The Social Housing Ministry has welcomed news that Malita Investments plc is close to securing new bank financing that will allow it to resume stalled social housing projects.
In a brief statement on Saturday, the ministry said that it would be “following developments closely where fitting” and looked forward to further announcements from Malita.
Malita is 82 per cent government-owned, with political responsibility for the company assigned to Social Housing Minister Roderick Galdes. The rest of the company’s shares are publicly traded on the Malta Stock Exchange.
Galdes was accused by a former Malita chairperson of meddling in the company’s affairs and “hobnobbing” with contractors that it engaged for its projects. Both Galdes and Malita denied claims of political interference.
Malita has run into severe financial trouble over the past year, forcing it to halt three of its ongoing social housing projects, including a flagship one in Ħal Farruġ, Luqa. On Friday, it announced that it has a preliminary financing agreement in place that would, if confirmed, allow it to resume works in Luqa.
As part of that arrangement, Malita said it is “restructuring” the project and entering into agreements with contractors involved. It did not elaborate on that.
