The Government is deeply disappointed that the Opposition should continue to operate on the basis of gossip and innuendo instead of what is best for the taxpayer and for Gibraltar as a whole. This has already cost them the last general election and it is obvious that they have learnt nothing.

The latest comments from spokesperson Damon Bossino about the award of the Northern Defences Expression of Interest are a further example of this negative and destructive approach to everything that the Government does. This knee-jerk reaction shows that they have not made a proper analysis of the facts.

The truth is that the entire process of the award of the Expression of Interest to manage the Northern Defences has been very lengthy, completely transparent and above board. This is reflected in the considerable amount of information on both the details of the award and the reasoning behind it, on which the Government has already given a detailed explanation.

The assessment of this proposal, when compared to others which came forward, shows that this was the best one for the taxpayer. There were other proposals which required the Government to pay for the investment itself and to pay a third party for the management of the site.

The successful proposal entails:

• an investment by the third party of some £4 million;
• the employment of 20 people;
• the payment of £100,000 up front;
• the further payment of either 25% of profit or first £50,000 a year, rising to £100,000 a year, whichever is the higher;
• the refurbishment at no cost to the taxpayer of the Landport Cottage as a ticket office;
• the operation of historic heritage tours and leisure activities.

No other party offered anything near this.

Moreover, the appointment of a preferred bidder and the subsequent award of the EOI followed an assessment of different proposals by an expert panel in March, as has been said already. That panel was unanimous in its view that the proposal from Fortress Attractions Ltd was far superior in substance, heritage content and in financial terms to that put forward by other parties.

It is worth noting that the same successful entity was also selected as preferred bidder after a  2017 Expression of Interest process, and that those negotiations broke down because the Government would not agree to issue a lease for the entire Northern Defences to a private company. Eventually, another EOI was issued in 2020. That process ended when a different preferred bidder withdrew their interest. The latest EOI closed in January 2024, where the Government’s position was upheld, the Northern Defences have been retained in public ownership which means that no lease over the site will be granted. Instead, the successful operator will be responsible for its management.

The Opposition are perfectly entitled to pursue a policy which does not allow anyone connected to a political party to apply for public tenders. That is their right. It is also NOT what they did when they were in Government, including the famous case where over a BILLION pounds worth of contracts were awarded by them, by direct allocation, to the same group of developers and contractors in breach of EU public procurement rules on services.

This is little more than a case of Mr Bossino and the GSD not practicing in Government what they now preach in Opposition. It is unfortunate that they should seek to tarnish an excellent deal for the taxpayer in the process. The fact is that the deal on the Northern Defences is the best one on the table in over ten years.