A core group of boat owners are set to form a cooperative of tenants from the Msida marina in a bid to tender for the operation of the marina, which has been earmarked for privatisation.
Etienne Bonello Dupuis, the lobby’s spokesperson, says there is great interest from boat owners, which in their totality number 700 occupying a berth at the Msida marina.
But why should boat owners be so interested in the future of their own marina and who gets to operate it?
The economics are quite simple, and as Bonello Dupuis says, it’s not rocket science: “Anyone with a good sense of business knows this is a good deal: you are inside safe waters, the pontoons are laid out already, and this is a going concern. All you have to do is rent out the marina’s pontoons, and the money is good and consistent, with capacity in Msida already at its fullest. This is a deal that guarantees income right away.”
Simple then. At an average €1,200 in rent for an 11-metre boat, there is no doubt that private operators are already laying their eyes on the upcoming tender document.
But then again that doesn’t mean things will not be changing at Msida. For one thing, the supply of water and electricity, supplied gratis by the government, is a contentious issue for anyone who pays their taxes. “The unfortunate thing about the marina is that boat owners do not pay water or electricity fees which are available on the pontoon. There are boat owners who leave their freezers and air-conditioners running, or have the water running constantly while washing their boats,” Bonello Dupuis says.
And that is something which will have to change in any case, whichever operator takes over the marina. “They are services that have to be charged,” Bonello Dupuis says, even by a cooperative.
So how will a co-op be different from a private operator who takes over the marina? The answer lies in what Bonello Dupuis calls the skewed market price of berths in Malta.
“Boats are no longer something for the very few to enjoy… there are many Maltese who own a boat, and because of this, there is even a greater demand for berths. There are at least 400 requests for pontoon spaces, conservatively. Msida is already full-up.
“So the market in Malta is skewed due to the limited number of berths. There is a far greater demand for berthing spots in Malta than there is supply. Whichever private company takes over the marina will find itself within a monopolistic situation because it can dictate the market price, as long as the supply is restricted as the case is today. Certainly in Msida, there is no space left. Government must consider providing new berths and pontoons in places such as Xemxija, Marsaskala, and even Gozo, as well as the Grand Harbour’s docks.”
So even though Bonello Dupuis, the deputy-mayor for San Gwann, shows himself to be very partial towards privatisation in general, he comes across as sceptical to the concept when applied to the marina. He prefers to adopt the concept of ‘popularisation’, a term his father, the former PN finance minister George Bonello Dupuis, championed in the sale of nationalised banks to the general public over to private investors because he did not want “a few Maltese rich men to reap all the benefits and throw the others overboard.”
“In this case, the private operator would only be getting a marina and reap the profits instantly,” Bonello Dupuis says, “without even alleviating the problem of the supply of pontoons itself.
“A co-op will lead to a more equal structure by opening it to boat owners who would buy shares at a standard fee, but then also be charged a fee according to the size of the boat. It will also bring greater pride in the ownership of the marina, rather than having a private operator just collecting money. It will give a different kind of management because boat owners will have a piece of the marina, and it will be in their interest to take care of the marina.”
That in itself doesn’t mean the co-op won’t be looking into making a profit, Bonello Dupuis says. “But what profit is made can be re-invested in the marina, or used as a rebate for pontoon fees, or even allocated to social causes and educational services. This in itself is the cornerstone for many co-ops. Whether it’s the co-op or a private owner that takes over the marina, 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 pontoons.”
The co-op will be presenting its application to the cooperatives board shortly as it is in the final stages of drafting its statute and its fee structure. “Once we receive this approval we will go to all pontoon users. Our intention is to introduce ourselves to the government shortly and make it known we are interested in the ownership of the marina. We have seen other marinas in the Mediterranean which are being run by co-ops.”
Bonello Dupuis braces himself for the tender process ahead – but doesn’t he feel that for such a lucrative, but small-scale government asset, the government already has some preferred bidder in mind for the marina? He rules out the mere thought.
“I have blind faith in the government led by Gonzi and the minister behind privatisation, Austin Gatt, that the tender competition will be a fair fight and right to the finish.”