NEWS | Wednesday, 09 July 2008

Msida Marina up for grabs

Amid rumours of a forthcoming privatisation process for the Msida Marina, this week local entrepreneur Etienne Bonello Dupuis confirmed that a co-operative made up of boat owners is being set up to bid for the takeover of the 700-berth marina, the largest on the island.
“We’ve had a lot of interest from the boat-owners. I have been receiving many calls every day as the word spreads,” Bonello Dupuis told sister paper MaltaToday Midweek today.
A core group representing boat owners is currently drawing up a system by which co-operative members would buy shares at a standard fee, but then also be charged according to the size of the boat.
Bonello Dupuis argues that this system would enable a different kind of management, which would in itself incentivise boat owners to take better care of the marina.
“We still have to submit our application to the co-operatives board for approval, and once we receive this approval, we will go to all pontoon users,” he said.
The group is also working on a new fee-structure, in which water and electricity will be no longer included at a flat rate, but rather be charged on consumption.
“It is the case that boat owners leave their freezers and air-conditioners running, or have the water running while washing their boats,” he said. “Those charges will come in, in case of any operator taking over the marina.”
Bonello Dupuis added that the Maltese market is skewed due to a greater demand than supply for berthing places. “There are at least 400 requests for pontoon spaces, conservatively. So the price itself is not reflecting a proper market situation,” he said.
The system proposed by the core co-operative group is to re-invest profits into the marina itself, as “there will be a need for increased maintenance, the revamping of the decking, and the upgrading of electrical supply and even fire-fighting equipment, which is non-existent on some.”