NEWS | Wednesday, 18 February 2009

PRINT THIS ARTICLE

James Debono
The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) spent over €403,000 on studies to assess the feasibility of artificial islands, an idea first proposed by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi in June 2005 on the same day he proposed a golf course at ix-Xaghra l-Hamra.
MEPA is however not revealing the results of these studies, even if they were finalised last year.
“This study is currently being reviewed and the findings are still to be presented to government,” a MEPA spokesperson told MaltaToday.
The results of the study will be made public after the end of this process, the spokesperson said.
The study, commenced on March 2007, was expected to be finalised by the end of 2007 but was only finished last year because of problems related to marine monitoring equipment.
The studies were conducted on behalf of MEPA by ADI Associates and Brtish experts Scott Wilson. ADI also coordinated the environmental impact assessment for the golf course that was later aborted.
The studies assess the feasibility of two sites proposed by MEPA for land reclamation, back in 2005 – one on the coast off Maghtab, the other to the southeast.
The ADI study should enable the government to take a decision as to the feasibility of reclaiming land from the sea. The two areas have been surveyed on the effects of waves, currents and dispersal of sediments and particulates, as well as the technical, economic and environmental constraints of land reclamation.
MEPA says the project will depend on the availability of suitable waste from the construction industry, which is currently being deposited on the seabed. Over 1.25 million tons of waste, mainly from mega-projects like Midi’s Tigné Point, were deposited on the seabed in a spoil ground northeast of Valletta since 2003.
Environmentalists fear the artificial islands will fuel the demand for construction waste by providing a quick-fix solution, rather than encouraging a more long-term approach based on the reuse and recycling of waste. Environmentalists are also concerned on the impact of such development on the marine environment.
Land reclamation, in the form of artificial islands, is once again being proposed in the newly proposed Waste Management Strategy, this time as embellishment for beaches, in the proposed solid waste management plan. “It is important to open the debate on the potential of reclamation as well as the creation of islands initially as an embellishment for beaches to transform what is today considered a waste into a resource,” the draft strategy states, which was issued for public consultation last week.
Of Malta’s waste, most (84%) is derived from construction sites. Although developers have to pay a fee to dispose this waste, the draft waste strategy plan acknowledges that the amount of waste dumped has increased between 2005 and 2007.
The government’s new strategy on waste management includes a stiff warning that if “unsustainable practices continue” the government will have to raise tariffs on the disposal of this waste in quarries and at sea. To encourage the recycling of construction waste dumped in quarries or in the sea, the new policy proposes the abolition of VAT on recyclable construction material to encourage its use.

jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt

PRINT THIS ARTICLE

Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below.
Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.