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Millions for the clinic and concrete on the beach: politics flirting with the emir
03 November, Il Fatto Quotidiano
The negotiation: last Wednesday, Gentiloni met the emir in Doha. Promised 600 new jobs for the Mater Olbia
Qatar Street is in Olbia, between the industrial area and the beach. This is only one of the products of the transformations by the former Governor Ugo Cappellacci and even more so these days with Francesco Pigliaru. To the point that it has been possible to make a law for urban planning for the whole island to protect the interests of the emir in Costa Smeralda, seen as the saviour of the local economy. Perhaps, the pm Paolo Gentiloni and the emir Tamin bin Hamad Al-Thani spoke about this last Wednesday in Doha.
The country has started investing first in the luxury hotels of Porto Cervo, then on the hospital formerly owned by don Verzè, finally on the airline Meridiana. The island kneels at new arrivals from Qatar. Since Rovelli’s Sir is now closed and Moratti’s Saras is limited to Cagliari, the presence of foreign investment in Sardinia is stronger than ever. It all happened over the last five years: it started in 2012 when Qia (Qatar Investment Foundation) bought Costa Smeralda following the debt of the American entrepreneur Tom Barrack. The portfolio included four of the most prestigious resort in the world, Marina, Pevero golf club, and 2,300 hectares of virgin land. Now the sole owner is Tamin bin Hamad Al-Thani.
The obstacle to his expansion is Sardinia is the Regional Plan for Landscape of the Governor Renato Soru, obeying to the Code for Landscape dated 2006 and only limit to the advancement of concrete. For the Qatar investors, this is a problem: there is money, but projects are stopped by the law. Fortunately, there is PD and its administration: last May, Mario Ferraro, manager at Qatar Holdings, presented to the regional urban planning committee a memo which contains the request for reducing the construction limit at 300 metres from the sea. The local politicians sheepishly obey and approve the request with the plan signed by the City Councillor Cristiano Erriu: green light to the extension of the buildings already existing. If the proposal will pass also the approval by the Regional Council and win over the environmentalists’ protest, it will be possible for hotels, resorts, and holiday houses to enlarge by one-quarter. An unjustifiable countertrend, if not an exchange: the salvation of the hospital Mater Olbia in exchange for more space for construction. It will be a high-standard healthcare facility that will employ 600 people, as the Region put it, which never harms during the electoral campaign. The clinic was saved from decline, even though sacrificing landscape.
Mater started as the private clinic of don Verzè’s San Raffaele and ended up in the bankruptcy of Monte Tabor. In summer 2014, the emir’s fund bought it for 1.2 billion euro from the creditors banks. The operation has its foundations on the constant diplomatic relations between Doha and Mario Monti and Enrico Letta, and it will have in Matteo Renzi as its biggest promoter, inaugurating the facility in May 2015. The project seemed to be already approved in 2013 with a manifestation of intent between Rashid Al Naimi, Ceo of the Qatar State fund, and Giuseppe Profiti, manager of Bambin Gesù (investigated for illegal use of funds in the case of Cardinal Bertone’s penthouse). After five months, the Council changed, but the new president Pigliaru signed an agreement in which the Region commits to approve all the building concessions if the Qatar fund buys the hospital. Last July, the hospital Gemelli in Rome became a Qatar’s business partner. A way to say, “buy and you’ll have all the doors open”. Almost five days later, the agreement with the Government signed by Renzi, for the exception on the bed’s limits. A fast track, in conclusion, a year before the arrival of Qatar in Sardinia. Renzi twits enthusiastically: “Over one billion investments in Qatar, and finally the launch of Mater Olbia, precious not only for Sardinia”.
But Mater stays unfinished and the inauguration is postponed: it was meant to be in March 2015, now it might be rescheduled to 2018, even though somebody fears it will be 2020. And while the dates are sliding, politicians work for Qatar. What really matters is to not let the golden investor go, for this reason, the Region voted to postpone the health reform to set the new limits of beds. Take your time, patients can wait. “This is good politics, Cappellacci and Pigliaru are the pride of the category”, celebrates the PD deputy Giampiero Scanu. The path is clear: more concrete and exceptions in exchange for dollars in an island suffering from the industrial crisis. The last bailout regards Meridiana, the Olbia-based airline established by Karim Aga Khan half a century ago with more than 1,600 redundancies. One month ago, Qatar Airways bought 49% of Meridiana Fly, substantially taking over completely with the approval from politicians and unions. The promise is a new strategic plan and the double of the fleet. The negotiation lasted three years with the Government support and the agreement with the Qatar ambassador in Italy. This is only the last episode of the Italy-Qatar pact started with Renzi with Sardinia as its main outpost.
Source: Il Fatto Quotidiano (by Nicola Girau)
Translator: Cristina Ambrosi