Pictures have been sent to The Malta Independent showing bastions next to the Mediterranean Conference Centre marred by concrete which appears to have been poured into culvert drains.

The drains feed into the bastions, and this led the mixture to stream down the bastions until it reached the lower levels of the structure.

Asked about the pictures showing concrete on the facade of the historic bastions, Valletta Mayor Alexiei Dingli said that the local council got to know about it yesterday.

“First-hand, it looks like a contractor may have poured the concrete mixture (into the culverts). Water mixed with concrete was poured into the calvert drains, ending up on the bastions.”

He went to say that the calvert drains could get blocked because of the mixture, and that this could lead to flooding.

“If it becomes blocked, you can’t just flush it out. You’d have to break-up the road and clear out the drains manually,” he said.

Asked to confirm that the concrete could risk causing damage to the historic bastions, Dingli immediately said yes. 

Dingli later confirmed that the contractor had been identified and fined by the local council. The contractor was given 48 hours to clear up the mess and warned that further fines could be incurred if this did not happen.