Front Harsien ODZ has welcomed the commitment taken by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA)'s Chief Executive Officer, that a final decision on the location of the proposed American University of Malta "will only be taken after the finalisation of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) which will consider all short listed sites."

The Front said that MEPA CEO Johann Buttigieg made this commitment during a meeting of parliament's environment committee chaired by Marlene Farrugia held on the 2nd of November.

The Front has already welcomed the decision to locate part of the university in Dock Number 1 in Cospicua but reiterates its complete opposition to the proposal to locate a campus on a site in Zonqor which includes 18000 square meters of land outside development zones (ODZ).

While reiterating its stance that Zonqor and similar ODZ sites should have never been considered as a location for the new university, the Front said that it will continue to exercise pressure to ensure that any EIA conducted considers alternatives to Zonqor.

"While the Prime Minister had identified a site in Zonqor which includes 18000 square meters of ODZ land , the site selection study conducted by the MEPA CEO has not excluded a number of other sites like a number of historical forts and a tract of land in Tarxien which can still be considered."

The Front has called on MEPA to issue a final list of all sites which can be considered in the EIA and insists that all these sites are given equal consideration in the EIA. "The terms of reference and the choice of sites shortlisted for the EIA should also be discussed in parliament's environment committee to ensure that the CEO's commitment to ensure consideration of all sites and not just Zonqor is respected."

It also insisted that an EIA on Zonqor which considers alternative sites in one of its chapters is not acceptable.

"Such a procedure does not ensure a thorough and real assessment of alternative sites which so far have only been considered in desktop studies conducted by the MEPA CEO's office with no input by Environment Protection Directorate and other experts. These studies should include base line studies, ecological and social studies as well as photomontages of the visual impact on each of the short listed sites. Anything short of this would be a cosmetic exercise which falls short of what Buttigieg promised in parliament."

The Front also called on the Government to publish the heads of agreement with Sadeen group to ensure "full transparency and dispel any doubts that the planning process is simply rubber stamping decisions taken by the government in meetings with the developer."

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