Joseph Portelli Recently Bought Mosta ODZ Land For €4.7 Million, Evarist Bartolo Alleges
Former Minister Evarist Bartolo has just alleged construction tycoon Joseph Portelli’s involvement in a €4.7 million deal on ODZ land in Mosta.
Addressing his followers on social media, Bartolo explained how even though the area is marked as outside the development zone (ODZ), a company that involves Portelli managed to purchase it in the last weeks.
“Near the Speranza valley in Mosta, there is an area of land which has been occupied by a number of illegally built garages since 1989,” Bartolo wrote.
“At some point, there was an agreement that they would be allowed to remain there as long as nothing would be built on top of them or any form of development would take place,” he said.
He continued explaining how in the past, whenever someone would lodge an attempt to develop the overhead space of the garages, it would be rejected on the pretense that it was ODZ land.
“A few weeks ago it was bought, on a promise of sale, by this company which is led by Joseph Portelli, and others whose names do not appear,” he alleged.
“The seller himself stated that it is indeed Portelli who bought it because only he has the power to reach the Planning Authority.”
He continued to say that given the area of land was sold for €4.7 million, one can only imagine what type of project the valley would be seeing.
“When people who live in the area tried to raise awareness about what they fear will happen to this area, people started telling them that they are complaining only because they will lose their view.”
“It’s as if it has become a great sin to speak against continuing to build, build and build,” he lamented.
This is not the first development that Portelli is targetting on the locality of Mosta, with a previous application planning to take over a green lung comprised of a number of fields in a residential area.
Former PN MP Jason Azzopardi shared Bartolo’s statement, questioning who would be “crazy enough” to buy a piece of land for €4.7 million if they know it cannot be developed by law.
“However, it seems as though some people are either crazy or criminal, because this story indicates corruption and trading in influence at the very least,” he said, before sharing a few titbits.
“The FCID would know about this if the people in charge had done their job. Do you think I don’t know about compromising messages that were found in the mobile of a ‘broker’ whose nickname starts with “P” and this ‘crazy person’ and between the broker and a magistrate?”
“As soon as the FCID saw these messages, which involve a very very big fish, an order was issued to return the mobile and not to inform the inquiring magistrate? Unless an earthquake brings everything down, we won’t clean this country from the grip of politicians in bed with criminals.”
What do you make of Evarist Bartolo’ss warning?
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