White Rocks is quickly becoming Economy Minister Chris Cardona’s white elephant. Despite Cardona tying his political career to the development, the project appears to have reached a complete standstill.

Replying to a parliamentary question, Cardona gave a nondescript answer to the state of current negotiations, which had reached “its final stages” 22 months ago.

“The priority and objective of the government is that the negotiations of White Rocks create a balance between financial and economic targets, with respect for the surrounding environment and community,” Cardona said in a one-sentence retort.

Cardona has been coy on the project for the better part of a year, even though he had boldly told TVM’s Reporter that he was “tying [his] political career with the success of this investment”.

An agreement appeared to have been reached in January 2018 after Cardona told Dissett that negotiations were about to be finalised.

White Rocks Development Consortium (WRDC) plans to build a mixed-use complex on the 450,000 square metre Pembroke site, that would include a seven-star luxury hotel, along with leisure, hospitality, residential and commercial units.

However, it appears that the government and WRDC reached an impasse of the total fee.

In the past, the WRDC was reluctant to reveal the full amount it would be paying for the land. While it was reported that they would pay a €25 million sum, the WRDC has long insisted that the total investment would be around €400 million.

The site has been earmarked for development for around two decades, with the Nationalist government first attempting to do so in 1999.

In 2010, now PN Secretary General Clyde Puli headed an attempt to turn the site into a sports village. After this failed to gain enough interest, the Labour Party, who was in opposition at the time, criticised the PN administration for promoting a project that was, in fact, a white elephant.

It appears now the shoe is on the other foot. The only question is, whether Cardona is a man of his word and will tender his resignation if the project crashes and burns.

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