I did not consider it.

I am not entirely clear about the number of Maltese youths being involved. It seems more likely that we will have a black market economy that hinges on abusing illegal immigrants further fuelling the lucrative human smuggling business.

In any case, one important implication of what you are saying is that there will be a cross-section of youths whose skills will never be upgraded. Their cross-job mobility will be severely hampered.

Well, that’s why it’s called ZONQOR Point.

Meanwhile we try to save what’s left of our larger one.

We’re being told that the project will be “within the quarry” but the quarry is 150,000 square metres while the development, according to the architects, will involve 220,000 sq. metres. This means another 70,000 sq. metres of protected garigue, agricultural land and rocky foreshore will be taken; an area almost as large as that of the Zonqor project. And I’m not counting the extensive road network and all the services which will have to be provided, presumably at public expense.

According to the drawings provided by the architects, the development will extend practically down to Fort St Anthony, known to locals as It-Trunċiera, a Grade 1 heritage site. The southernmost edge of the development will be around 150 metres away from the fortification and just over 1 km away from the previous proposal for a destination port in the Ħondoq quarry.

The website of the architects says that the marina “will be excavated and settled in a limestone cove eroded by both nature and man”. There’s no such cove eroded by nature; the coastline is quite straight.

It is true that the Labour Party’s electoral programme 2013 mentions “cruise liner facilities” but such facilities do not include apartment blocks, villas, a luxury hotel and shops.

This is nothing but another building spree with the excuse of providing berthing space for liners.