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- part of fort to be equipped with conference facilities
The Cottonera Waterfront Group yesterday announced it has begun a Lm1.5 million restoration and finishing programme on significant parts of For St Angelo, which include the De Guiral Battery, the sea-gate vaults, and 1.5km of rock-hewn tunnels. The remainder of the fort is left within the responsibility of the government, except for the uppermost level, which is held by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta on a 99-year lease and has already been restored.
Pending the necessary permit clearance, the restored vaults at Fort St Angelo will be equipped with conference facilities and put at the disposal of destination management companies, whose business it is to organise large conferences and events in Malta. There are also plans for a discreet bistro and a chandlery that will cater to the supply requirements of the increasing number of yachts and super yachts berthed at Vittoriosa.
Once the government has completed the necessary preparatory work, another consortium, Grand Harbour Marina, which is responsible for the yacht marina at Vittoriosa, will extend the existing wharf below Fort St Angelo. The Cottonera Waterfront Group will then build a restricted pied-a-terre for the lease-holders of the super yacht berths.
So far, the work carried out by the Cottonera Waterfront Group has uncovered the upper part of the sally-port stairway - an opening in the fortification from which defenders could enter and exit - on the De Guiral Battery. The stairway, which was built in the 16th century, was filled in and covered up in 1942, after receiving a direct hit during an air raid. The fort, then known as HMS St Angelo, was the headquarters of the British Navy during World War II, and received 69 direct hits by high-explosive bombs in 1941 and 1942 alone.
The first phase of the restoration project involves cleaning out the debris that has accumulated over the years since the British forces left Malta in 1979. The fort is now in a state of great neglect, and has been subjected to vandalism and misuse. The second phase of the project will be mapping, which means taking a detailed record of the present state of the fort, including the tunnels and the vast vaults. The masonry and flooring will then be restored by hand, as with the restoration of the nearby Caraffa Stores, also undertaken by the Cottonera Waterfront Group at a cost of Lm150,000.
The De Guiral Battery will be tackled first, followed by the sea-gate vaults and then the extensive network of tunnels. There is also a pending application for the restoration of the distillation plant which provided fresh water at the fort.
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