News | Sunday, 01 February 2009

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Malta’s underwater Maghtab

1.25 million tonnes of construction waste dumped since 2003

James Debono
A staggering 1.25 million tonnes of construction waste has been dumped in an offshore “spoil ground” located northeast of Valletta harbour since 2003.
This could be only a fraction of the amount of waste deposited in the same site in the past decades, because the Malta Environmental and Planning Authority has no statistics to show how much construction waste was dumped on the seabed before 2002.
Nor has it conducted any environmental impact studies before allowing the disposal of this massive amount of waste in the veritable ‘underwater Maghtab’.
According to a MEPA spokesperson, the spoil ground has been in use since the time of World War 2 when the site was used for the dumping of war damage in the 1940s.
“Since this site has been in continuous use ever since no impact assessment was carried out,” the spokesperson told MaltaToday.
MEPA has confirmed the site was used to dump construction waste excavated from the Malta Freeport, the Tigné Midi project, the Fort Cambridge project, the Viset project in Pinto Wharf and more recently the Smart City project in Ricasoli.
MEPA recently commissioned a survey of the seabed of the spoil ground to collect preliminary data on the physical and biological characteristics of the spoil ground and surrounding area.
“The aim of this study is to have a clearer picture on the nature and extent of the spoil ground,” the MEPA spokesperson said when asked whether MEPA has any scientific data on the impact of the waste disposal on the marine environment.
But MEPA did not disclose any the results of these studies because the “reports are still under review”.
One of the risks of disposing construction waste in to the sea is that dangerous chemicals could find their way in to the sea if they are mixed with the inert waste.
But according to MEPA it only allows the dumping of uncontaminated inert wastes and all dumping operations are monitored by MEPA staff to ensure that no contamination occurs.
MEPA is currently owed €5,089,307 in fees due from contractors depositing inert waste in this under water Maghtab.
MEPA has asked the developers of the Manoel Island and Tigné Point Development – MIDI plc – to pay a staggering bill of €4.6 million in fees for disposing an estimate 1 million tonnes of construction waste into the sea.
But MIDI is refusing to pay, claiming the payment is time-barred – a term used when invoices to creditors are sent too late to be legally binding.
The developing consortium has just concluded a successful €30 million bond subscription for the completion of its project.
As a signatory to the London Convention, the Maltese government can only permit the dumping of inert waste under strict control and conditions.
MEPA too has long recognised the risks involved in dumping of wastes at sea. A position paper issued in 2001, which was never approved by the government, lambasts the disposal of waste at sea as an activity that on one hand squanders resources, and on the other carries significant environmental risks.
Asked whether there are any plans to encourage the recycling or re-use of inert construction waste, the MEPA spokesperson replied that such policy matters are dealt with at ministerial level and not by MEPA.

jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt

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