Watch: Robert Abela Unveils Plan To Level Up Malta’s Struggling Towns
Prime Minister Robert Abela has confirmed a future PL government will launch a national plan to regenerate and level up struggling towns and villages.
Addressing a PL rally in Ħamrun this evening, Abela said that while he’s confident Malta’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery has picked up significant pace, some zones “aren’t feeling this positive impact so much”.
“Wealth must spread through these zones as part of a crystal-clear strategy,” he said. “We will therefore launch a national plan for socio-economic regeneration that will stimulate economic activity and improve people’s livelihoods.”
The government will first conduct a study to identify those localities that require a “boost” and then help them through a number of incentives.
Start-ups who open up in these towns will be given a €15,000 grant while existing businesses who upgrade their premises will be able to recoup half these costs from the government, with a maximum of €15,000.
Businesses that employ workers will also receive separate financial aid.
The Prime Minister said this is over and above the €700 million that the government will invest in environmental projects around Malta over the next seven years.
First-time buyers will also be incentivised further to purchase property in areas of these towns marked as urban conservation areas.
As per a Budget scheme announced last year, first-time buyers who purchase properties built in a UCA can benefit from a €15,000 grant if the building is located in Malta and €30,000 if it is located in Gozo.
Abela said that grants will now double for UCA property in struggling towns – meaning it will rise to €30,000 for struggling towns in Malta and €60,000 for those in Gozo.
This is over and above the €10,000 in government aid that all first-time buyers will be entitled to over a ten-year period.
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