An agreement of collaboration between Xghajra local council and the central government was signed which will lead to the council making the best of the challenges posed by SmartCity Malta and the drainage treatment plant which treats 80 per cent of all the drainage generated in the country, before it reaches the sea.

Mayor Anthony Valvo said there had been genuine consultation by the government and that the Xghajra coast would be returned to the residents thanks to the treatment plant. Investments Minister Austin Gatt said the effect on the communities around these projects would be enormous. Xghajra’s profile would be changed completely because its coastline would no longer be poisoned by untreated drainage and the polluting industries of the Ricasoli industrial estate would disappear.

There would be employment opportunities in different sectors, such as tourism and security, and more open spaces for recreation.