It’s probably a sight that has plagued each Maltese generation since the end of World War II – that of a crane lifting huge limestone bricks up in the sky to be deposited on the roof of some structure being built.

In the late 1940’s and subsequent years, Malta had to rebuild after the devastation that was wreaked by the Axis bombings. Up went apartment blocks and government housing – there was no alternative. Malta needed to rebuild and re-home families fast.

A decade or so later, Malta discovered what is its very lifeblood to this day – tourism. There was a glut of Brits coming to holiday here in the sun and among a friendly people who could understand them. But, of course, they had to be put somewhere. And so, in the 60s and 70s, the hotel and apartment boom began. All the while, the cranes popped up everywhere and rampant construction ensued. The 1962 hot song Little Boxes sung by Peter Seger probably sums it up well with its satirical take on the expansion of US suburbia.

Construction continued, and after a hiatus, it was the turn of the central government to embark on a number of capital and infrastructural projects that were sorely needed. This brought about a better quality of life – Malta progressed, and development then turned to housing for Malta’s new middle class that could afford the step up in terms of buying a new and bigger home.

That, in a nutshell, is what Malta’s post war story has been. Our dire need to develop to be able to live a decent life has turned into something that has been a constant for the past six or seven decades.

Each post war government that we have had has always pushed for development – there was no other way. Many sins against our land were committed in the process. But that is the price of ‘progress’.

Environmentalist Astrid Vella, in an interview with this newspaper said that this government’s policy is to “develop at all costs”. In many ways, she is right. She said that the previous administration was involved in many scandalous cases, but this government was pushing to construction industry too much.

But, it begs the question. Has all that much changed? Perhaps one of the main issues that has is the sheer volume of projects that are on the go at the same time. It makes Malta look like one huge building site. While the issue of environmental protection should always be given the weight it deserves – especially in terms of pristine and untouched land, we also need to look at an equally important issue. Another EU nation that also relies on tourism is Spain. The Iberian nation poured a lot of money into construction projects and a property bubble was created. That eventually burst and entire swathes of the coastline has been left with half finished apartments and hotels that no one wants to buy and no one wants to finish. The bursting of the bubble caused the country to slide into economic hardship and it has not yet recovered as its unemployment rate remains sky high. Money doesn’t grow on trees, but it is only when we have chopped down the last tree and caught the last fish that we will realise that we cannot eat money. A balance must be struck, and we can’t afford to get it wrong.