The highest asking price for a parking space in the most modern luxury development in the heart of Sliema is Euro 30500. This is bang in the centre next to all shopping complexes, bars restaurants and all the razzmatazz, where parking is a 24 hour problem.
It is an outright purchase and it is the asking price for purchasing a single unit in the best place of the car park. If you go down one floor the price reduces to Euro 23,500, if you go down two floors it reduces to Euro 20,500 and if you go down to the bottom floor the price is Euro 18,000. These are asking prices which normally include at least 5% agency commission and can be negotiated down to some extent.
Obviously if the purchaser is interested to buy 100 spaces than the price could be negotiated down to a very considerable extent as that becomes a wholesale not a retail deal.
Now compare that to the Euro 32000 per unit that the government has agreed to pay for the right to use for 94 years (not outright purchase) 100 car parking spaces at the MCP car park in Floriana. We do not know whether these would be in the top floor or the bottom floor or whether they are spread all over the place. But even in the best hypothesis that these would all be in prime slots on the top floor the stark over-payment compared to the going commercial rate is evident.
This deals stinks. The taxpayer is being short-changed as polticians and friends take one last drink for the road. Bear in mind that the MCP is not in the heart of Valletta, it is in Floriana outside Valletta where parking between 5 pm and 8 am is at a discount. Or will the parking lines be gilt-edged?
And frankly why should government need 100 parking spaces at MCP? If our transport system, especially to and from Valletta, should be working like clockwork why don't the pen pushers start using public transport and save the public coffers a handful, or two? Even using taxis would be cheaper.
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