The government has issued a tender for the first phase of restoration work on the derelict Fort St Elmo in Valletta, but a spokesperson for the ministry responsible said that a decision on whether the government has managed to acquire European Regional Development Funds (ERDF), so crucial to the future of St Elmo, is still to be taken at EU level.
The first phase of the restoration of St Elmo is expected to cost around €5.5million and, according to the tender, has to be completed within two years from the award of the contract.
ERDF funds for the restoration and upgrading of Fort St Elmo are necessary since the government is believed to have set aside only a small fraction of the cost required for Fort St Elmo’s total regeneration, although the sum has yet to be revealed.
Last February, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications Austin Gatt told the media that the government is “very confident” it will be awarded ERDF money later this year, which would pave the way for the rundown and historic fort “to be transformed into one of Malta’s main attractions”.
The Infrastructure Ministry spokesperson said it was “good practice for public entities to commence preparatory work on projects while funding arrangements for it are underway. This project is no exception.
“The Ministry remains confident of acquiring ERFD funds and is working on this premise. If this was not so and one had to wait to be allocated the money before issuing tenders, the process would be extended by at least a year and then everyone starts complaining that it is taking too long.”
It is greatly hoped that the restoration and rehabilitation of the fort and its environs should serve as a catalyst for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the lower sector of Valletta.
If ERDF funding is acquired, it is expected that construction and upgrading work will take place on the original fort and on the later additions at the Carafa esplanade, the extended outworks along the bastions, the ditch and granaries in front of the fort, the Evans Building, the Examinations Centre and the foreshore.
Other plans include the reinstatement of the Knights’ botanical gardens in the land-front ditch, which serviced the medical school of the Knights’ Order and a Military History Museum and a Story of Valletta museum.
The rehabilitation of the imposing three-storey Pinto stores for commercial use including tourist accommodation, food and beverage outlets, retail outlets, and office space, is also one of the project’s plans, while the government is analysing the possibility of expanding the War Museum, using existing historic structures along the Enceinte, which are to be duly restored for this purpose, or other cultural uses.
A clean up in and around the fort took place yesterday in an event organised by fast food chain McDonalds.