With an investment of €2 million, Spencer Garden in Marsa, will be revamped to become a sustainable public garden for recreational purposes.
This project was announced by Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia together with ERA CEO Michelle Piccinino on Friday.
The 10 tumoli garden is being funded by the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) and Ambjent Malta and it is expected to be completed by next year.
Minister Farrugia said that the aim of the project is to provide families, children as well as workers working around the area, a recreational and open space to spend their time in.
“This sustainable project will be named in honour of Guido Lanfranco - one of Malta’s environmental pioneers. A memorial for Pope Francis’s recent encyclical, Laudato Si’ (“Praised Be You”)’ will also be set up near one of the ponds in the garden,” Farrugia said.
Revered Maltese naturalist Guido Lanfranco passed away last week at the age of 90.
The garden will be surrounded by CCTV cameras in order to ensure the safety of the people visiting the garden but also the safety of the place itself.
The garden will also be equipped with photovoltaic panels to generate renewable energy. Reservoirs will also be developed to create a system in which rainwater would water the trees and plants in the garden.
Farrugia explained that the project will involve a significant amount of greenery, but it will also be accompanied by an element of water through ponds.
Meanwhile, ERA CEO Michelle Piccinino said that it’s a shame the state the area has turned into, and the aim of the authority is to acknowledge its state and improve it.
The authority’s idea is to introduce an element of nature in an urban area which is surrounded by traffic, arterial roads and industry. The authority is also trying to set an example for other such projects that are located in similar urban areas. It is of crucial importance to bring the natural environment into such places,” Piccinino said.
“We aim to establish an oasis, which we believe was the foundation on which Guido Lanfranco lived,” she said.
Piccinino noted that “although the project comes with its challenges, I hope that with the help of our experts we will deliver a successful project.”