The fuel tanks in Birżebbuġa came to national attention after the Leader of the Opposition mentioned them as an alternative site for the proposed American University for the South. I will not go into the merits whether a University should be built in Birżebbuġa; instead I wish to focus on these tanks. Even though, the idea of the Leader of the Opposition was not taken on board, it seems that these tanks are considered an eyesore, to the environment and therefore there is nothing wrong in having them dismantled and removed, provided that they are properly cleaned. In fact, the foremost objection to Leader of the Opposition’s proposal was that the site of these tanks is not big enough and their dismantlement is a too long a process. Then, there was another objection from the Mayor of Birżebbuġa who dismissed this project because I am here quoting the Mayor: “I am personally against hosting this University in Birżebbuġa. We have nothing to gain from it. It will only benefit businessmen and not the residents. What we need are more open spaces here and not more buildings.”
I totally agree with the Mayor, Mr. Barun in his evaluation of the project. From an urban point of view, Birżebbuġa has nothing to gain from such ventures. It will only result in more road congestions – a point also raised by the Mayor. Besides giving valid reasons why such a mega project should not be made in his hometown, what Birżebbuġa needs are more open spaces and it comes as a breath of fresh air to have a mayor making such a request. His reasoning should make the Mayor of Wied Il-Għajn blush. From an urban point of view, what is not good for Birżebbuga ought not to be good for Wied Il-Għajn, as both localities have the same geophysical characteristics.
On the other hand, I find the idea of dismantling these fuel tanks illogical and ahistorical. It is even more illogical to have this urban space used as a detention centre. It shows a lack of respect for Malta’s history of the nineteenth and twentieth century in general and its industrial architecture in particular. Unfortunately, those individuals who give such insulting advice to our politicians, always disappear from the scene when the deficiency of their proposals is publically denounced. My concern is that when such individuals are put in positions of trust by our politicians and this irrespective of political creed, they end up doing more harm than good.
There are still “experts” who consider these tanks ugly and polluting and therefore, there is no need to transform and reuse them. Personally I would like to use my blog to make a passionate plea for the preservation of these fuel tanks in Birżebbuġa and I think that these tanks can be adapted to modern use after having been properly decontaminated as rightly said by Professor Robert Ghirlando. Personally, I have never visited the site. What I am going to say is based on what I have been told by someone who has visited them and had the opportunity to see them from the inside. They are more beautiful on the interior than on the exterior. They are superb pieces of engineering and are among the first big iron projects for Malta. These old fuel tanks are cathedrals in iron.
I am told that some of the tanks have inscribed in them the year when they were constructed. They belong to our collective colonial history and form an integral part of the history of the industrialization of Malta.
Just to explain the craftsmanship required for their built, they have no piece of welding. They were mounted when such a technique had not yet been developed. Therefore all the iron pieces had to be kept together with rivets. This was an extremely important profession. It was taught at the dockyards. Sheets of iron plates were locked together and made airtight by rivets so that no air or water could pass out from the tanks. I agree that they have now served their purpose and there is no scope for them as fuel tanks. But this does not mean that they cannot be put to other use.
While I fully support the Mayor’s implied claim (even if not explicitly said) to have this locked space turned into a public area, I suggest that these tanks are preserved for future generations. There is no need to be preserved in their actual state. What I am implying here is their transformation to become an attraction in themselves. I am not here talking about a museum. I am thinking in terms of spaces that can be enjoyed by one and all.
These types of projects have taken place abroad. This is what happened in Rome. In the early nineties, during my studies in the Eternal City, there was a big cultural debate about the historic tanks that used to supply the whole city of Rome with gas. At the time, the question was whether these huge metal structures should be preserved or dismantled. Many considered them an eyesore. The decision was to keep them and transform their iron members into an artistic attraction.
Similar projects can be thought for these old fuels tanks of Birżebbuġa. This is why I am making a plea for their preservation. One only needs to ask artists, architects and individuals involved in the performing arts to come up with ideas to create a unique experience for the Birżebbuġa residents. Approximately 40,000 square metres of prime land close to the shoreline would be returned to the residents and Maltese citizens, while its tanks will become a national ode to past Maltese engineering. At the same time, one would be giving to this place a deserved future while turning these tanks into an attraction that instills a sense of pride of place.