NEWS | Wednesday, 05 March 2008

MHRA, MGA bless Sant’s ideas on golf courses

David Darmanin

Other than the MLP, all parties seemed to have avoided talk on golf courses in their manifestos for the general elections.
Labour’s proposal, controversial as it may be, has found backing from operators in the tourist sector.
At a press conference held recently, Labour Leader Alfred Sant stressed that any golf courses developed in Malta, due to our limited size, should be stand-alones.
When asked whether the MLP had conducted a feasibility study on stand-alone golf courses, Sant said: “Businesspeople are saying that stand-alones are not feasible. With new ways of looking at things, we believe they can work. With better use of Malta’s resources, they can work.”
However, Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association President Josef Formosa Gauci wasn’t one to shoot it down. Asked about his views, Formosa Gauci told Business Today: “Our stance is stated in the position paper we presented to both parties. We have been clear about the need of two golf courses, one in Gozo and the other in Malta. Of course, we feel that the site chosen needs to be ecologically sustainable.”

When asked about what his stance on the feasibility of stand-alone golf courses, Formosa Gauci said: “It’s difficult to just say yes it’s feasible or no it isn’t. Before the proper business model is discussed one cannot really comment. What is sure is that no private entrepreneur will go into a project without the prospect of a substantial return.”
Malta Golf Association Secretary Ian Restall, on his part, seemed even more enthusiastic about the prospect of the development of a golf course, of whatever type. “We are all for any golf course,” he said. “We are in favour of not just a golf course but a golf academy which has nothing to do with tourism but is something children may gain from, while requiring less land.”
Asked about whether he looks favourably at the feasibility of stand-alone golf courses, Restall said : “If you give me a golf course and it’s paid for then it’s feasible. If I have to buy the land and build the golf course, then it would be difficult. If four or five star hotels pool in, with the help of the government, I’m sure it could work.”
“If you don’t factor in the capital investment required for a golf-course, it will maintain itself and make a profit,” he said.