Hili's plans for Comino hotel get PA case officer thumbs up

A new project to build a hotel and bungalow complex on Comino has been recommended for approval by a planning authority case officer, a key step forward for the development. 

The proposal by Hili Ventures consists of the part excavation and construction of a 140-bed hotel in the San Niklaw Bay area and 16 bungalows at the Santa Marija Bay area, including ancillary facilities like bars, restaurants and a spa.

A hotel overlooking San Niklaw Bay was originally built in the 1960s, but has since fallen into disrepair.

The project has generated controversy among environmentalists and activists, with NGOs describing it as “monstrous” and “occupation by stealth” of the ecologically sensitive islet. 

Thousands of objections have been filed against the project. 

This week, the PA's case officer recommended that the board grants Hili permission to build the hotel and bungalows, subject to certain conditions, including contributing €307,625 towards PA’s planning fund.

New bungalows render: Hili Ventures

The report states that the permit is subject to a public deed, which limits the site’s use to tourist accommodation and does not allow for permanent residential occupation. 

The accommodation, which includes bungalows, cannot be sold or transferred separately. 

Furthermore, development right will be forfeited if the proposed tourist accommodation ceases to operate as one unit for tourism purposes.

The report says developers will take measures to mitigate “most visual impact” of the project.

This includes designing the project based on the present contours of the site, the use of low-lying structures.

The visual impact will also be mitigated further through time once the landscaping that is part of the design has matured, the report says.

The low profile of the design and the breaking up of the floor area into multiple smaller structures achieves better integration with the present environment, the report continues.

In line with the requirement to maintain the ecological equilibrium on Comino, the Planning Authority requires the removal of “clutter” around the hotel at San Niklaw Bay and the tourist complex at Santa Marija Bay as well as the general rehabilitation of these areas, the report says.

This will include the removal of blank party walls at the perimeter of the site.

The report says there will be a general presumption against the further development of built facilities on Comino which entail additions in height, extent or intensity of use of existing or proposed facilities.

The Environmental Resources Authority, Malta’s environment watchdog, said in its submissions to the Planning Authority that the proposed design is “unlikely” to affect the integrity of the protected Natura 2000 sites on Comino. 

Following submissions of photomontages, ERA said the development will be adequately screened from the surrounding areas, through the proposed landscaping and design of the bungalows. In this regard, no significant impacts on the sensitive coastal landscape are envisaged.

Hili claims that the new project will take up less land than the previous hotel; however, a Times of Malta fact check in 2023 determined this was misleading.

The fact-check found that although the overall footprint of the project would be reduced, this isolated fact did not adequately describe the scale of the project, with the development’s floor space set to increase by a third when compared to its current size.