Rural Affairs and the Environment Minister George Pullicino, and Finance Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech, met up with the media at the Tal-Qroqq Skate Park yesterday and saw the progress of works underway, despite the rain.
“Our goal is to open the skate park towards the end of January, and it is also intended to be a garden and a recreational area for nearby residents,” said Minister Pullicino. “The project, to cost Lm100,000 in total, has been funded primarily by the Finance Ministry’s Good Causes Fund, and the works are being carried out by the Environmental Landscape Consortium (ELC),” he added.
“The Good Causes Fund was set up in order to support the creation of sports facilities, as well as other cultural and philanthropic goals,” said Parliamentary Secretary Fenech.
“Even though skating is not a traditional or structured sport, we are happy to support this innovative sport and the aspirations of those who practise it, since they have found this particular location convenient,” added Mr Pullicino.
“We are grateful the government is giving us a space for our sport,” said Michael Demarco, a skater who is testing the park while it is being built, so as to make sure that the works are going well.
“CCTV cameras will also be set up to prevent vandalism, and good lighting will be added for those who will continue to use the site as an underpass,” concluded the minister.
When asked whether graffiti is considered as vandalism, Architect Ivan Coleiro who is supervising the works and liaising with the skate boarders said: “Graffiti will be allowed in the middle areas, and actually used for advertising purposes in order to help generate income for the project.”