Privatising shipyards

The government plans to privatise the Malta Shipyards and four to five companies have already shown interest in them, from Forbes:

Gonzi said most of the attention came from Northern Europe, but Russia, China, Japan and the United States were also interested. The Malta Shipyards, with four docks including one for super tankers and another for super yachts, employs 1,700 people.

'We are very aware of the fact that this will affect workers and will be monitoring the situation but we need to work together with the unions,' Gonzi said. He said that Malta Shipyards would show a substantial loss this year when subsidies must end to comply with EU rules but would have been privatised even if it were profitable. 'The yard has been part of our heritage ... but the time has come for the 'yard to give to the economy and not just take,' he said.

The Malta Shipyards, formerly a naval dockyard, was nationalised in 1968. Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt said this was a good time to sell the company as there was a considerable demand for ship repair services. In statement earlier this week, the General Workers Union warned that the government 'will not be allowed to act in a dictatorial way' in selling the yard.