Joseph Portelli

Joseph Portelli (born 21 May 1977 in Canada) is a Maltese entrepreneur and real estate developer.

Biography

Portelli was born in Canada from a family from Nadur, Gozo. He started his career as a small-time sensar in his village.

During the Nationalist governments

Downtown Hotel, Victoria

His first project was the Downtown Hotel in Victoria, Gozo, which he developed together with Raymond Bajada's family company, car dealers from Xewkija. In March 2001 Portelli and Bajana aimed at developing a public square, terraced houses, entertainment centre and youth hostel spread over 8,700 square metres. Yet, their permit was denied. One year later, in October 2002, they got a permit for a hotel and shopping area. Yet, once built, the hotel could not deliver profits. On 3 June 2008, three months after the 2008 Maltese general election won by the PN by just over 1,000 votes, Portelli sought to partly change use of the complex from shopping outlet to offices. The PN later leased two floors of the hotel as office space, with the most expensive contract for the Gozo Ministry under the tenure of Giovanna Debono, for €62,900 per year. The hotel was also later used to host patients from the Gozo General Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Until April 2022 it served as a temporary home, leased to the government by Portelli for some €1 million a year.

Mercury Tower

Portelli's main project with the new Labour government was the massive development at the Forum Hotel site. In July 2017, Portelli submitted plans for the Mercury Tower. This was originally meant to be limited to 15 floors and to be used for offices, shops, and top-floor apartments and penthouses, as part of the €24 million 2005 concession. Yet, in 2012 the Planning Authority approved extensions of the two towers up to 19 and 18 floors. By the time of Portelli's project, they have grown to 40 and 25 floors. As a "compromise", Portelli developed a single 31-storey building, while retaining a permit for a second 23-floor towers, approved in 2020. The project was met with concerns, notably since it was disclosed that the UK consultancy Mott MacDonald, which had originally drafted the public master plan for Paceville, also worked on engineering reports for the Mercury House project.

In 2021, Portelli also became the main sponsor of Bormla's regatta club - according to Malta Today, eyeing the nearby former Rialto Cinema, owned by the Labour Party.

Nadur Youngsters

Portelli had already twice presided the Nadur Youngsters teams, in 2002 - 2004 and 2017 - 2020. The white-washing led to his face being printed on flags for religious feasts. His young son Tristen Portelli later replaced him as Nadur FC president.

Ħamrun Spartans presidency In the summer of 2020 Portelli went on to preside one of Malta's prominent football clubs, Ħamrun Spartans.

Portelli invested heavily into the Ħamrun Spartans, while flouting COVID-19 regulations. This allowed him to ingratiate himself to the population of a 10,000+ town which is key for either party to win elections. Ħamrun-born infrastructure minister Aaron Farrugia and former prime minister Joseph Muscat both boasted pictures with Portelli at the Ħamrun Festa.