Works have been progressing on schedule since the project was initiated in October 2003 and it is envisaged that it will continue to do so till the end of June 2004.

The Ministry for Resources and Infrastructure rebuts claims made by the Leader of the Opposition when he is quoted to have said that Paceville had lately not been taken care of and that this zone had become less attractive for visitors leading, according to Dr Alfred Sant, to job losses.

This blunt statement is nothing but another tentative source of weak criticism from a Labour Party leader who is in fact in a state of panic because of the continuous initiatives of projects, such as the one at Paceville, which are regularly being commissioned by this ministry in an effort to continue embellishing specific areas in the Maltese islands.

The DOI statement added that during works in Paceville all measures are being taken to prevent unnecessary inconvenience to the commercial community as well as to the residents in the area. In fact, Minister Ninu Zammit and the Public Works’ architects have been in regular contact with Mr Philip Fenech, president of the GRTU, who represents the interests of the commercial outlets, as well as the mayor of St Julian’s to make sure that the commitment regarding the phasing of the project is respected as it has been to date.

Phase one and phase two of this project have been completed according to the planned schedule, while phase three, which includes the square in the heart of the locality, started a few days ago. The whole project is planned to be ready by the end of June.

With reference to the obvious minor inconveniences in Paceville Square and in some inner roads, the Ministry for Resources and Infrastructure would have preferred not to have inconveniences at all, but the general public is being asked to be realistic. The planning for this project took into consideration the business community and efforts are ongoing to ensure that the remaining works will not cause any avoidable problems.

The government is committed to continue investing in this area in which the total investment being carried out by the Ministry for Resources and Infrastructure is in the region of Lm1 million, which sum is an addition to the investment in embellishment works already carried out in Sliema and the St Julian’s Promenade, the DOI statement concluded.