Diving Into Project : Foreign investment: Newport Beach development consultant is a man on a mission: to establish an international swimming complex on his native Malta.

There is no mistaking a man on a mission: passionate speech, visible excitement, eyes flashing and an almost religious fervor. Robert Buhagiar is such a man.

Buhagiar, while not in a league with Peter Ueberroth, the businessman who coordinated the 1984 Olympic games, has a drive that seems just as strong.

“I want to build an international swimming complex on Malta that rivals the best in the world,” said Buhagiar. “When completed, I would then attempt to create an international swimming clinic on the island that would draw the top swimming coaches from America and the world to train swimmers from Malta, the U.S. and the world.”

Buhagiar, 45, is founder and president of Newport Beach-based Buhagiar & Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in international development, including building hotels, houses and warehouses. He said he stumbled onto the $3-million swimming facility project while visiting his native land of Malta last year.

Part of a U.S. delegation from the Overseas Private Investment Corp., Buhagiar was considering building a five-star hotel on the tiny island nation. And while the focus of the trip was to investigate foreign business opportunities, the Newport Beach resident was eager to renew his cultural roots.

Buhagiar left Malta in 1954 at age 7 when his father moved the family to the United States to search for work. He grew up in Michigan, where his dad worked for General Motors in Detroit.

But it was a family trip to Malta in 1962 that made him realize the importance of cultural heritage. “That experience strengthened my ties with my national identity,” he said. It was that, and his late mother, Violeta, who instilled within him the desire to one day give back something meaningful to Malta.

“I truly believe sport, and particularly swimming, is a positive force. For Malta, which is a progressive country that is constantly evolving, sports like swimming and water polo will open an important door to their development,” he said.

While the project is under the umbrella of Buhagiar & Associates, other Orange County businesses involved in planning the Maltese facility include Mission Pools in Escondido and Costa Mesa-based General Procurement and Construction Co., where Buhagiar is also a partner and marketing director.

The Maltese government has already received bids for the project from England, Germany, Italy and France. The government will announce its bid selection within the next three weeks. It hopes the complex will be completed by May, 1993, in time for the Games for European Small Nations, which the country will be hosting.

Malta--which our government classifies as a progressive Third World country and is nearly 60 miles south of the tip of Italy--gained its independence from British rule in 1964.

Although not a swimmer himself, Buhagiar traces his love for the sport to his children--Andrea 13, Kristin, 9 and Bryan, 5. They all swim for Novaquatics, a swim club in Irvine, where he was also a board member last year.

Buhagiar and his wife, Barbara, are active with the club and competitive club swimming in Southern California. Although Buhagiar’s work calls for frequent trips, when at home he’s likely to be found on any given afternoon watching his children swim or talking to coaches and parents.

Buhagiar said his group’s proposal was inspired by the Heritage Park Aquatic Complex, home of Novaquatics. That complex was built in 1971 and includes an Olympic-size pool, a 33-meter diving pool and a 25-yard pool.

Bruce Dunn, president and owner of Mission Pools, has been building pools for 31 years. His private company’s work includes the 50-meter pool at Corona del Mar High School, the Marian Bergeson Pool in Newport Beach and various college pools in Southern California. The company is building an Olympic-size pool at Cal Poly Pomona. Dunn’s first meeting with Buhagiar came during the Orange County Swim Championships last year.

“I remember we talked and he seemed like a really nice guy. But when he called a few weeks later, it was completely out of the blue,” Dunn said from Harvard Business School, where he was finishing up a course in business management. “At first I was a bit skeptical. But Robert is a very determined and persuasive man. He seems to have everything in control from his end. I wouldn’t be involved if I didn’t believe that he wanted to build a first-class facility.”

Dunn said competition among the foreign companies will be stiff, but he believes American-designed water filtration systems will give the Buhagiar team the added edge, noting that American firms have a corner on this technology.

“It’s very exciting to be involved with this project. What this could possibly lead to is anybody’s guess,” Dunn said.

“It’s my dream, and I think Bruce’s, to be able to one day develop pools in other countries,” Buhagiar said. “But that’s an idea we have to wait on until we find out what happens with this project.”

Though the financial rewards of the project would be great, Buhagiar said a sweeter victory would be getting the pool built.

“I am an American first, last and always. I served my country during the Vietnam War. I love my country,” Buhagiar said. “I also love Malta. This complex is for my people. This complex is for my mother.”

Closeup: Malta Location: In the Mediterranean Sea, about 57 miles south of Sicily. The country consists of five islands: Malta, Comino, and Gozo, which are inhabited, and Cominotto and Filfla, which are not. Capital: Valetta Population: 360,000 Area: 122 square miles, about the size of Denver Elevation: 784 feet above sea level at its highest point Climate: Hot, dry summers, with an average August temperature of 77 Farenheit; mild, moist winters with an average January temperature of 53 Language: Maltese, English Olympic Hopefuls Robert Buhagiar is president of Newport Beach-based Buhagiar and Associates, which is one of the firms bidding to build a giant swimming complex in Malta. He wants to make the aquatic center an international drawing card for Olympic-bound swimmers to train. The project: Malta International Aquatic CentreEstimated cost: $3 million Description: Three pools: 50-meter Olympic-size pool; 33-meter diving pool, 25-yard warm-up pool The facility: Includes lane markers, pool blankets and filtration housing, bleachers, decking, fencing, parking, locker rooms, showers, restrooms, offices Source: Collier’s Encyclopedia, World Book Encyclopedia , Buhagiar and Assoc. Researched by DALLAS M. JACKSON and ERIK HAMILTON / Los Angeles Times