Joe Bossano and joint-ventures with the Chinese Red Dragon

GSD 'does not support' Government's joint venture transaction with Chinese sub-state owned construction company

Response to this article and Joe’s interview on Viewpoint (and then some):

If this modular-unit development were a positive build for Gibraltar, everything would be out in the open for all to see. But many things in Gibraltar are “sold to the people” as being “for the people”; but time and time again, it’s about a few making lots of money. And through the Government of Gibraltar’s Ministry of Propaganda (aka Gibraltar Chronicle and GBC), we often only hear one side of the story – the government’s propaganda.

The local media SPIN news in GoG’s favor; and that’s propaganda, not journalism. Picardo ridicules any ideas not akin to his – that’s arrogance and ego, not humility and service to the people. If your voice actually mattered, you could rely on proper journalism to report it; and not have to use social media to be heard. If your voice actually mattered to the government, you’d be given a proper platform for proper debate; instead of the 5G-Debate controlled by government spin, and edited in their favor before publication.

Your opposition might be ‘noted’, but you will not be given a voice; aside from a reporter pretending to ask the GoG your questions – but in reality these questions have been carefully crafted, approved, and known about in advance, so that the government can pretend to address your concern, with it’s own views.

In his interview on the Government of Gibraltar’s Viewpoint, Joe Bossano said some pretty interesting things. On GBC YouTube channel, the entire interview isn’t up; instead, less than 2 minutes is featured, with what the government wants you focus on – the building.

They probably would like you NOT to focus on a few other things that Joe said – like when he said, “Dealing with China, you can buy products that are not what they claim to be.” He essentially said that by having a joint partnership with a Chinese company, Gibraltar could ensure the quality of the product. Really?

Do we want to really talk about the quality of Chinese products?

Then, let’s talk Chinese steel.

After all, these modular units, as Roy Clinton pointed out, are basically “shipping containers”. And shipping containers are made out of steel. Cheap steel – cheap building.

The UK steel industry has declined, because its government and corporations prefer China’s cheap steel. Both the US and UK have criticized cheap Chinese steel, because they use additives, which weaken it.

READ:

1. Chinese Steel Quality Vs American Steel Quality

American steel requires some rigorous testing before it can be sold, but Chinese companies are not required to conduct these tests. These tests help keep buildings standing after a hurricane or earthquake and help prevent the steel from becoming brittle and beginning to crack when it is being welded.

Some Chinese companies were found putting Boron in their steel to earn a tax rebate. This addition to the steel makes the metal crack easier and is an overall safety hazard. While there are some welding methods that can help prevent the metal from cracking during welding, but the exact amount of Boron added to the metal needs to be disclosed, which they often are not.

2. Warning Chinese steel imports could be safety threat

Chinese steel being imported into the UK could be putting lives and buildings at risk, as well as jobs.

Additives in some Chinese steel used to reinforce concrete can affect the metal’s strength when it is welded and now UK industry is highlighting the dangers posed by it.

[It’s always about a few making a killing, isn’t it? :eyes:]

3. Britain's steel industry: What's going wrong?

UK imports of Chinese steel have increased dramatically.

Can we really blame China for Britain’s declining Steel industry?

No, blame the British individuals and companies who buy Chinese steel instead of British steel, which was at one time a quality product. The U.K.’s famous Steel City – Sheffield – has lost almost all of its steel-works and workers.

What really went wrong?

Under God’s Law, His people were not to make covenants with strangers (Exodus 23-32-33), but they allowed their governments and corporations to do so, blindly leading them to their own destruction.

Stop putting your faith in leaders out to make a profit, while taking your jobs away, no matter how they try to sell it – only a few make a killing and the rest suffer.

Under God’s Law, all are prosperous.

SEE ALSO:

Corbyn urges Cameron to recall parliament over Tata Steel crisis

The government does not accept that it has been too soft on blocking Chinese steel dumping. Officials have argued that granting China market economy status does not stop Europe increasing tariffs on Chinese steel, and claimed that the government’s action in the EU has been to stop changes to a ruling that could harm British consumers in areas other than steel.

[The government is often in denial when it comes to wrong-doing. And if something goes wrong with this project, who are they going to blame?]

The fact is that the UK has been hit with over-supply from Chinese manufacturers for years.

It really can’t be spun in the government’s favor, if you have eyes to see.

Chinese steel has been used for decades; which decimated the steel industry and coal industry that supplied coal for the blast-furnaces in the UK. It’s not about quality, because if that were so, then UK steel would be sourced, not cheap inferior Chinese steel.

Is Gibraltar really going to trust Beijing Liujian Construction Company for “quality-control”? This company has a thing to learn about quality – like the “quality of life” its workers are entitled to. Yet, “quality of life” for cheap Chinese labor (slave labor) isn’t their concern, nor is it the concern for investors, and traitors within governments, who want to make lots of money.

Imported Chinese Laborers’ Work-Conditions Shock Caribbean Nation

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/5069/imported_chinese_laborerss_work_conditions_shock_caribbean_nation

The incident has highlighted the growing number of Chinese workers sent by state-owned Chinese companies (in this case, the Beijing Liujian Construction Company ) to work in Trinidad and Tobago's government-sponsored projects. The conflict has spurred a debate on who is responsible for deplorable working conditions.

Both the Chinese embassy and the T&T government (along with the company) have all skirted responsibility for fear of igniting an international incident and intruding on private business matters.

But beyond the wage dispute, local officials and media who visited the camps in the town of Cunupia, in central Trinidad, were appalled by the inadequate living standards.

The public has also criticized Trinidad and Tobago's government for hiring the companies, and pressure has grown to enforce local labor laws and international regulations to which they are a signatory.

Something doesn’t add up between what is being sold and reality. :face_with_monocle:

What does add up is British Insurrection Against God.

The British were chosen to be a Witness for Him, not to rape and pillage third world countries. They were supposed to bring the world to one-nation under God, indivisible. Yet, they have allowed traitors to take advantage of others – so everyone in the nation went a whoring for the god of mammonism (materialism) and financial greed, which is against the first Great Commandment. And everyone started using the third world as slave labor, which goes against the Second Great Commandment, and stealing their natural resources.

Mark 12:28 And one of the lawyers came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first COMMANDment of all?
Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The First of all the Commandments [is], Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength and serve Him ONLY: this [is] the first COMMANDment.
Mark 12:31 And the second [is] like, [namely] this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other COMMANDment greater than these.
Mark 12:32 And the lawyer said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but He:
Mark 12:33 And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love [his] neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Matthew 22:36 Master, which [is] the Great Commandment in The Law?
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Matthew 22:38 This is the First and Great Commandment.
Matthew 22:39 And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Matthew 22:40 On these two Commandments hang all The Law and the Prophets.

Do you think God hasn’t prepared China to punish His Witnesses (UK and USA)? Read Revelation. They are going to be defeated in the coming war.

China is exacting revenge. It learned the “market-system” game and has used it to build an arm – using the money it makes from the West by selling it cheap products; and uses it for a geo-political strategy to dominate the world. The BRI is a military strategy.

Plus, the Chinese have been able to exact revenge on the UK for turning it into an opium den, and its people into addicts. Now, China supplies the drugs to addicts in the West, pharmaceutical and otherwise, like China-White heroin and fentanyl, etc. Yet, the royal family is still the biggest drug dealer in the world, with the poppy fields in Afghanistan that UK soldiers were sent to protect. The second biggest drug pusher is the CIA, where George Bush Sr., earned the name “Poppy” Bush; and US Soldiers guard the opium.

Back to Bossano ­– on China, Spain and Gibraltar:

Bossano said it was enough for him that China doesn’t support Spain, when it comes to Gibraltar’s self-determination. He did clarify that in meetings at the UN, China officials didn’t support Gibraltar either, by the way. Is that enough for you too?

Before you answer that, research how China is exerting pressure on Spain to conform. Is Gibraltar so special that they treat it differently than any other country? And perhaps, if Joe and other Gibraltar officials romanced the U.S., as much as he/they does/do the atheist anti-God red dragon of China, some trade deals could happen between God-fearing countries. Perhaps, if they supported UK companies, by buying UK products, the economy would rebound in favor of the British.

This is unlikely to happen because too many traitors are in bed with the enemy whilst their people are asleep; and all will suffer the consequences. The entire nation is going to be punished for blindly following Luciferian Marxists and Fabianists.

In the interview, it was ascertained that the company, which will be doing business with Gibraltar, has been involved in projects at the Manchester Airport and Newcastle University. That company comes up as CIMC, which is the same company featured in the interview about how the modular units are made.

SEE:

1. Modular offsite construction is delivering results for Newcastle University

https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/planning-construction-news/modular-offsite-construction-delivering-results-newcastle-university/34202/

2. Chinese construction company confirmed as part of Manchester Airport City development group

“We see our involvement in Airport City as an extension of the memorandum of understanding between China and the UK, where we have been looking to further explore joint infrastructure opportunities for some time.”


Does it make you wonder if there are “extensions” of the MOU signed between China and Gibraltar? Maybe these are understandings that more and more business will be done between the two in a variety of sectors.

What understandings do they have?

Kevin Rennie Back Scratching

And if this modular building gets the go-ahead, and saves money, does that mean that savings will be passed on to Gibraltarians?

The world has experienced an economic crisis, even outside the covid19-related one. If China’s exports were down, doesn’t this mean shipping container production might also have taken a downward turn? Portable building are nothing new, but an increase in modular-building projects would be strategic.

They are being marketed as sustainable building, creating less of a carbon footprint. Really?

READ:

1. Dealing with Environmental Pollution in the Iron and Steel Industry: The China Case Study

China even cut its production in 2017 to address the pollution issue:

2. ‘Beautiful China’: Beijing starts the biggest shutdown of steel factories in history

There are lots of stories about China’s air pollution if one wants to dig, especially in Wuhan where the people were demonstrating against the government about air-pollution and breathing problems, before they got quarantined with the Covid-1984 plandemic. So, is it the Christian thing to say, let China pollute their air to save ours?

It really doesn’t work that way, because we actually live in a world that turns, where air travels and what happens in one place can have effects elsewhere. Soot from the 1,000 oil-well fires in Kuwait in 1991 was soon found on the Pacific Islands.

3. The Global Impact of China's Air Pollution Problem

https://thespinningglobe.com/chinas-air-pollution/

Hurricanes and cyclones are becoming more common each year in various parts of the world and scientists see the correlation between the increase of air pollutants and devastating storms. The world has never been more informed, and this is valuable in the fight against pollution.

After the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 (the Third Trumpet of Revelation), radioactive particles were found in the UK and Scandinavian countries.

With partnerships between UK and China (like CIMC) to bring foreign-made products into the nation, modular building will likely continue, because corporations make the decisions for the government, and bribe them to pass legislation in their favor, which is known as fascism. The true definition of the word fascism is “corporatism” because it is the merging of corporate and state power.

Even if modular building was the trend of the future, how hard it is to build them in the UK, using UK steel?

Chinese products are chosen because they are cheap – and one gets what they pay for. Besides, the CCP and Chinese officials are reaping the benefits from the own slave labor within their borders.

Modular Designs have been used in hotel design and quarantine facilities. Again, it may be the trend but local construction jobs will suffer.

Holiday Inn Express builds modular hotel – A great hotel plan comes together

Modular construction has proved a winning formula for building projects in UK.

When China's CIMC Modular Building Systems completed the construction of the 220-room Holiday Inn Express in Manchester in only 39 weeks, it made history as the first large-scale modular building of its kind in northwest England.

Holiday Inn Express in Trafford City wins ‘Best Offsite Construction’ award at 2018 North-West Regional Construction Awards

The 220-bed Holiday Inn Express, opened in June 2017, is constructed from purpose-built steel shipping containers complete with factory-finished interior fixtures and fittings, all of which were installed before being delivered to site. The scheme uses a bespoke system developed by modular manufacturer, CIMC, which worked closely with the design team, led by Chapman Taylor, to develop a full-scale brand compliant prototype for the project before progressing manufacture for the whole scheme.

Hong Kong builds Covid19 quarantine facility:

CIMC Modular Building Systems set up temporary quarantine facilities for HK

Using shipping containers isn’t necessarily a bad idea for some. Many people have turned them into homes, but they still must understand the pros and cons – Rust and Corrosion In Shipping Container Homes.

Wouldn’t it be better to have highly-trained quality-inspectors for major development projects? They are able to identify problems by being on site; and catch where corners have been cut, so to speak.

Joe continues to pull the Chinese “Trojan” Dragon through the gates of Gibraltar. He then wants to push it north and south.

Why is he really doing this?

For those people who don’t know about the “Trojan” Horse: it was built by and filled with Greek soldiers, and left outside the Gates of the impregnable, walled Fortress City of Troy. The Trojans thought it was a parting gift from their Greek enemies who had given-up the fight, and the Trojans foolishly pulled it inside their gates. During the night, whilst the Trojan people were asleep, the Greek soldiers climbed out of the horse and opened the city gates, letting the Greek army into Troy, where they killed all of the Trojan men, raped the women, ransacked and looted the city, and burned it to the ground.

If this is a joint venture transaction between the GoG and a Chinese sub-state owned construction company: why and how, when it’s completed, is it going to belong to a private company? Why isn’t it a joint venture between the Chinese company and the private company that is going to own it, instead of the GOG using the public’s money? Who is going to really make the money on this transaction?

You can also read more about Gibraltar-Chinese relations on this thread: China’s Interest on The Rock (Albert Isola & Joe Bossano pull the trojan dragon through the gates)

You might also be interested in this discussion:

Danny Feetham and Joe Bossano have an exchange in Parliament on the new Chinese investment and its potential effects on the local construction trade.

Bossano, "I’m not going to tell you what the business plans are for the joint venture.”

If this video link doesn't work, or is broken, copy and paste this url in a new window: "I'm not going to tell... - GSD - Gibraltar Social Democrats | Facebook

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Looking at the image of Joe Bossano, the first thing that comes to mind is Ashkenazi-Jew. Then, looking him up and finding his name on wiki, it says at the very bottom:

“… and as of 2017, Bossano held the position of Minister for Economic Development, Telecommunications & the Gibraltar Savings Bank” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Bossano

The Banks (control of the people and funds) are never too far-removed from these people.

More Joe Bossano in the news

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China plays victim to exert pressure, even after Twitter had deleted thousands of accounts praising China's response to COVID-19 and others which were linked to Hong Kong protests. These included 23,750 "highly engaged core" accounts and 150,000 "amplifier" accounts.

"They were tweeting predominantly in Chinese languages and spreading geopolitical narratives favorable to the Communist Party of China, while continuing to push deceptive narratives about the political dynamics in Hong Kong," Twitter said.

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Here are some news updates to the joint-venture -

On June 22, GBC announced that the joint-venture was not using CIMC:

Company Govt looked to involve in construction of residential home for senior.

On June 23, GBC interviewed Roy Clinton, who has asked important questions and raises important concerns.

GSD expresses concern over nursing home joint venture following UK companys...

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It’s not just a Chinese UK based Co specialising in modular construction that has gone into liquidation leaving £798k in trade liabilities. It operates under the same CIMC brand name & probably forms part of the same group that is integral to Govt’s economic plan for next 4 yrs.

– Daniel Feetham QC MP tweeted 8:25 AM · Jun 24, 2020

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Government Opposition clash over ownership of company involved in nursing...

"Sir Joe said the Gibraltar-based company involved in the joint venture on the
Rock is owned by one of many companies belonging to a much larger Chinese
group."

It might do well for the Government to heed the voice of the people: GIBRALTAR IS NOT FOR SALE.

Shifty Joe doesn't know and doesn't care –

https://twitter.com/keith_azopardi/status/1278941240147525633

Image in tweet:

Don’t forget Albert Isola in the Chinese Connection:

According to Belt and Road News on July 2, 2019, Albert Isola said:

“We have already entered into an MOU with Beijing Construction [Engineering Group]. They’re looking at doing some projects with us in Gibraltar in terms of infrastructure projects, and the discussions are ongoing,” he said.

https://www.beltandroad.news/2019/07/02/gibraltar-eyes-investment-from-top-chinese-firms-to-boost-tiny-economy/

What are their “understandings”? – To collaborate together on future projects that would be “beneficial” to a few, but sold as “good for Gibraltar”.

See also:

A Gibraltar Connection With Care Homes

:point_up_2: Click on the title of the article in the above box to read the entire report.

"Dozens of Scotland’s care home buildings are owned by companies based in tax havens and controlled by global hedge funds, private equity and the Chinese government, The Ferret can reveal.

Data obtained from Registers of Scotland shows that – as of the end of 2019 – at least 44 Scottish care homes were owned by companies based in tax havens such as Jersey, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar."

Not only does this article disclose that care homes are owned by the Chinese Government, but also Gibraltar is involved, being used as a tax haven.

This is an interesting discovery, given the post from Gibraltar Human Rights & Free Speech on May 15, 2020:

Care Home Tweet

While they may or may not be related, perhaps more questions need ASKING and some investigation within Gibraltar's own borders needs conducting.

See also:

UPDATE - The shipping container care home has been approved.

The ESG has said it is very disappointed by the proposed project for the new elderly care home on Bishop Caruana Road that has recently been passed by the DPC. It does not consider that the proposed building is the best solution. Described as a sustainable project the ESG would like to see how this has been evaluated. It believes better designs exist, sourced from countries with a better environmental record than China. This project is being rushed.

https://www.yourgibraltartv.com/society/21929-esg-disappointed-in-dpc-s-passing-of-new-elderly-care-home

Unite the Union Gibraltar Press Release:

For immediate use: Monday 14th September 2020

Proposed new elderly care nursing home must not result in further privatisation within the care sector

Unite, the union for workers in Gibraltar, has today (14th September) raised concerns regarding the future of the care sector following the recent announcement that the Development and Planning Commission had recommended the Government’s plans for the new elderly care nursing home. There is a lack of clarity around the tendering process for the build, with question marks over the apparent and preferred method of modular construction at a time that the construction industry in Gibraltar is dire need of projects. The other concerns revolve around the future of existing elderly care facilities and also who will be staffing the new facility.

Stuart Davies, Unite National Officer for Gibraltar said: “The proposals for the new elderly care nursing home have been raised by the union in meetings with Government back in June and we wrote to the Chief Minister in July formally detailing our concerns and issues with the proposal. Now that the DPC has recommended the plans, those concerns are brought into sharper focus. The proposed modular design and the engagement with a Chinese partner on this build has prompted much head-scratching particularly at a time when local construction companies are in acute need of work. It therefore prompts legitimate questions around the tendering process for the works.

“The longer term issues are linked to the future of the existing elderly care nursing home footprint and also the resourcing of the new facility. The union’s position is clear, any new facility must be staffed and resourced by public sector employees on decent terms and conditions of employment. Any move to resource the new facility with staff employed by private sector care companies on inferior wages and conditions would represent a further privatisation of the care sector, such a proposal would be robustly opposed by the union. Any new facility is the opportunity to extend quality, public sector jobs to those living and working in Gibraltar, we cannot praise and clap care workers one minute, but then the next state that they are not deserving of public sector contracts and conditions.

“The union is seeking further dialogue with Government on this issue and to obtain assurances around the build and eventual resourcing of the proposed facility”.

Ends

(from https://www.facebook.com/groups/368877003628966/permalink/993943854455608/)

21st October 2022
Prefabricated modules for a privately-run nursing home in Rooke will be shipped from China to Gibraltar early next year and could arrive by the end of January, with completion of the building likely by the summer.

The timeline, which is not definitive and could be impacted by supply-chain delays, was revealed by Sir Joe Bossano in Parliament in response to questions from the GSD.

Sir Joe said the 280 modules were being manufactured in China “and should be finished by the end of this year.”

“It takes normally 42 days for the ship to arrive here with all the units, it'll be one trip,” he said.

“There will be several months of continued work here in terms of making all the connections in the structure into which the modules will go.”

“The modules come fully furnished, [complete with] a shower in each bedroom, a small kitchenette in each bedroom, and all the services that we're going to provide in the home.”

“All this will require several months of further work.”

“I hope that the thing will be ready for occupation maybe by May or June, around about that time if everything goes to plan.”

But he cautioned: “With the construction and the delays in deliveries nowadays, you cannot be as confident as you would have been a few years ago.”

“Everybody knows that there are shortages happening all the time as a result of the disruption that there is in the global economy.”

The project is being built by GBIC, a joint venture between the Gibraltar Government and Beijing Liujian Construction Group, a subsidiary of China’s state-owned Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG) which was founded in 1953.

GBIC is using the international subsidiary of BCEG, the UK-based Beijing Construction Engineering Group International (BCEGI), as a consultant given its experience working with similar construction techniques in the UK, including the £500m Airport City Manchester.

Parliament was told the modules for the Gibraltar project were being “built in China to British standards”.

Quizzed by Opposition Leader Keith Azopardi, Sir Joe confirmed that labour would be “imported” to fit the modules into the building’s structure, which is already well advanced.

“We are importing labour to do the integration of the modules into the structure,” Sir Joe said.

“The labour is being imported from the UK and they are UK workers, not Chinese workers, who have done this already in the UK.”

“And the modules are to UK standards because the company has been supplying it to the UK before they supplied it to us.”
“We will have some of our own workers here working alongside them so that they will acquire some of the skills and in future projects we may need to be less reliant.”

Plans for a modular eight-storey building, described as temporary housing, have been filed with the Development and Planning Commission.

The proposed building will be located on Coaling island.

According to a planning statement filed by Community Supplies and Services limited, the project will be used to temporarily rehouse people from buildings in the Upper Town earmarked for demolition.

The project will be taken on by Harbour Developments Limited, a consortium of locally based developers.

The Coaling Island Temporary Accommodation Scheme is a modular development providing approximately 335 1-bedroom Studios apartments.

16 of these will be accessible by people with reduced mobility.

Each unit will be 50m2, have a double bed, a bathroom and a living room with a communal laundry on each of the eight floors.

The overall height of the building is 27 metres.

The plans submitted by Architects Chapman Taylor are on behalf of China International Marine Containers and Gibraltar joint venture company GBIC.

These are the same companies involved in the modular construction of the new elderly residential home at the Rooke site, as well the Jewish community care home.

It says the scheme is expected to last 5-10 years and must be transportable and it should also be easily assembled and dismantled.

However, there is also the possibility of future incorporation in the on going Victoria Keys development.

The project will be taken on by Harbour Developments Limited, a consortium of local developers.

GBC has asked the Government how the scheme will work and who will be eligible to stay in the apartments and we await their reply.

The GSD says it has considered the planning statement filed in what is sometimes referred to as the Coaling Island temporary housing development.

A statement continued: “The badly drafted planning statement talks about a ‘temporary housing building’ to ‘temporarily’ re-house the ‘populations from neighbourhoods subject to alteration and demolition foreseen in urban remodelling to be carried out and which will result in the need for housing units’. It further refers to a scheme which is also separately described as a ‘Temporary Housing Scheme’ which will ‘probably’ be ‘re-integrated’ on the Victoria Keys project.

“The development will exclusively house small studio apartments of 50m2, with the Design Statement citing the client as ‘CIMC’, which the GSD understands refers to China International Marine Containers and ‘GBIC’, which has been described by Sir Joe Bossano as the joint venture company he has created with Chinese investors.

“The application has, very oddly for this government, not been pre-announced with the usual fanfare and only been disclosed as part of the planning process. It is slim on detail and has all the hallmarks of producing a cheap, ‘shanty-townesque’ construction. Many will remember the USOC ‘temporary’ housing built by the Bossano administration which overstayed its welcome by becoming a permanent eye-sore until eventually demolished.

“The GSD asks the following questions:

(i) who is being decanted there – is the proposed new housing being earmarked for cross-frontier workers in the case of a no-deal, as some are suggesting?

(ii) what properties are being demolished?

(iii) what is being built on the demolished areas by whom and on what commercial terms?

(iv) what plans does the government have to build further developments using Chinese containers?

(v) where are the current occupiers of the site going to be moved to?

(vi) what is the Temporary Housing Scheme referred to in the statement?

(vii) what planning and aesthetics considerations have been taken account of for what looks like an un- attractive building which will also be very close to a site which the government has earmarked for high- end residential living?

“Many are bewildered as to where this project has come from and what its purpose is. The whole thing has the air of being disjointed and rushed. We urge the government to provide clear and transparent replies to the questions raised. “ said Mr Damon Bossino, the shadow minister for housing and planning.

Bulk carrier with elderly care home modular units from China to arrive on Wednesday; Queensway expected to close at night to allow transportation to Rooke

Modular units for the new elderly care home at the Rooke site are expected to arrive in Gibraltar on Wednesday afternoon

The bulk carrier "Great Faith" left China on the 1st December with around 280 containers, and is expected at the dockyard between 4pm-6pm after passage through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.

GBC understands the plan is to close Queensway from Ragged Staff Roundabout to the Rooke site between 9pm and 6am for a week, as from Wednesday night. This will allow the units to be transported safely by heavy goods vehicles with minimum disruption to traffic.

The Minister for Economic Development, Sir Joe Bossano, told Parliament last October he expects the residential care home to be ready for occupation in May or June.

These are expected to provide around 170 new residences which would then release Government housing.

Sir Joe has said the pre-fabricated units are perfect to mitigate any potential negative impact of Brexit on construction workers, and hoped Gibraltar could be a base to introduce the product, which could then be sold on to nearby markets.

The Minister for Economic Development says innovative thinking is needed to get Gibraltar 'out of the black' whilst providing social projects, especially post Brexit.

Sir Joe Bossano was down at the site of the arrival of the Great Faith, and he spoke to Ros Astengo.

@DG-Truther-Videos

The complex structure used to finance and build the Rooke elderly residential home is designed under the National Economic Plan to ensure Gibraltar obtains value for money by avoiding runaway construction costs, Sir Joe Bossano said, dismissing as “nonsense” GSD concerns that it amounted to “de facto government borrowing”.

Details of the mechanism used to fund and build the project were revealed in Parliament in the run-up to Christmas by Sir Joe in response to questions from GSD MP Roy Clinton.

Through the mechanism, GSBA, a subsidiary of the Gibraltar Savings Bank, is buying loan notes issued by a longstanding publicly-owned company called Gibraltar Community Projects Ltd (GCP).

GCP is then buying loan notes issued by Community Supplies and Services Ltd (CSS), a company that is linked to a number of new projects under the National Economic Plan including the controversial new stadium proposal, and which is owned by Gibraltar Community Initiatives Ltd, a registered charity.

CSS, which is financing the development of the Rooke residential home, then uses that money to pay GBIC, the 50/50 joint venture construction company formed by the publicly-owned Gibraltar General Construction Company and the Beijing Liujian Construction Group, a subsidiary of China’s state-owned Beijing Construction Engineering Group.

“Gibraltar Community Projects is purchasing the loan notes at 4% for three years from CSS,” Sir Joe said.

Sir Joe said that of the £22m channelled to date into projects under the National Economic Plan, most had been used to meet the construction of the Rooke residential home.

He said the money was provided “when it is needed” for the scheme and depending on the pace of construction, adding the security provided by CSS was the value of the assets that were being built by GBIC.

During exchanges across the floor of Parliament, Mr Clinton put it to Sir Joe that the mechanism to fund the project amounted to indirect government borrowing.

The GSD has long criticised the government for what it describes as ‘off balance sheet’ borrowing channelled through publicly-owned companies, a mechanism that the Opposition says affords little transparency.

But Sir Joe was having none of that.

"It's complete nonsense,” he said.

“He may want to call it government borrowing, but in fact the borrower is the entity that is financing the construction project [meaning CSS], and that is not a government company, and that's where the money is used."

"Before it reaches that point, the money is unused."

NATIONAL ECONOMIC PLAN

Pressed by Mr Clinton, Sir Joe also offered insight into the strategy underpinning his National Economic Plan and said it allowed the government greater oversight and control over projects that were of critical importance both socially and economically.

And he said the GSLP/Liberals had set out in their 2019 election manifesto that the Gibraltar Savings Bank would reinvest deposits to promote Gibraltar’s economic growth, so generating employment and additional Government revenue.

He said the plan had been designed to boost Gibraltar’s economy after Brexit but would also help it recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The way the National Economic Plan will work is that the Savings Bank, as we stated in the manifesto, is financing the delivery of projects and then, after the projects have been finished, we expect that the project will be invested in by private investors and therefore the money can come back and be recycled," Sir Joe said.

"The original program in 2019 provided for an investment of up to £500m."

"I don't think that we'll be able to invest that much in the time that is left of our time of office, but the fundamental methodology is that the funding is to make the projects happen..."

"What will be happening will be that as new projects come in, the investment will be provided, and as projects are completed and then sold, or other people invest in the finished product, the money will then be used to repay the loan notes and will come back to the Savings Bank."

Sir Joe told Parliament that GBIC, the joint venture with the Chinese company, was the government’s preferred bidder for construction projects under the National Economic Plan – barring any projects that required specialist expertise - and that this again allowed for greater oversight and control of costs.

Sir Joe cited past examples where public projects had overrun despite initial lower cost forecasts at tender.

"What tends to happen is that, whereas in the case of GBIC there is a situation where we are 50% owner and we therefore know exactly what the cost of the things are, what invariably happens in Gibraltar is that the companies that sometimes come in cheaper at the beginning tend to come in very expensive at the end,” Sir Joe said.

He said past GSD administrations had “many occasions of experiencing” such situations.

"And sometimes companies that were the most competitive at the beginning disappear over the horizon without paying anybody anything in Gibraltar and leaving a whole host of debts, and eventually the former government had to engage JBS to finish half the projects that they had put out to tender in the private sector,” Sir Joe told Parliament.

"That is the kind of experience that we've had with government projects in Gibraltar."

‘LOW RISK’

Throughout his answers to Mr Clinton during a series of exchanges in response to a battery of interlinked questions on the subject, Sir Joe stressed that he believed the projects were low-risk investments.

He said the projects would put the money in the Gibraltar Savings Bank to work, while producing projects of benefit to Gibraltar.

"We know exactly where every penny that is being borrowed is finishing because, fundamentally, the work is being done by a company which is 50% owned by the government,” Sir Joe said.

"In this situation, we've created a mechanism that enables us to mobilise the funds of the Savings Bank for investment in creating assets in Gibraltar that will produce income and wealth and therefore at the same time generate an income for the Savings Bank which we cannot get by having it sitting in bank accounts [as] cash or having it invested in London by the Crown agents, where the returns would not enable us to maintain the level of interest rates that we've consistently paid in the last 11 years to our investors, principally to the pensioners that have been getting a very favourable rate."

"And the more money we have in the Savings Bank, the more we will need to find ways of reinvesting it profitably."

"The Savings Bank has now got a total amount of deposits of £1.5 billion, and therefore we're not going to have the £1.5 billion sitting there doing nothing."

"What we need to do is to put it to work to make money for the bank, which ultimately is good for Gibraltar because it is the rainy-day fund for the future and creates activity and helps us to restore financial stability in Gibraltar which is part of my responsibility."

"The mechanism by which it works, he [Mr Clinton] may think is risky.”

“I don't think it's risky, and therefore I am satisfied that the guarantees that are there by de facto being within our sight all the time are sufficient."

GBC has had an exclusive first look at inside the containers shipped over from China that make up the new nursing facility at Rooke.

The prefab blocks arrived on the Rock just weeks ago, and as of this evening, they're all in place. The containers have whole bedrooms built into them: 160 single bedrooms, and 29 doubles.

Exclusive first look inside containers shipped from China that make up new...

GSD Leader accuses Government of privatising elderly services 'by stealth'

GSD Leader accuses Government of privatising elderly services by stealth

"What kind of care are they going to get?" Azapardi asks.

Speaking on GBC TV's Opposition Your Question on the issue of Mount Alvernia and the new residential home at the Rooke site, the GSD Leader, Keith Azopardi, accused the Government of privatising elderly care services "by stealth".