Infrastructure Malta will start works on the road surface in the main Paola square on Thursday, Transport Minister Chris Bonett said.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Bonett said that he has long heard of the existing damage on the roads of the square in Rahal Gdid. He said that on Thursday evening, Infrastructure Malta will start works to change the surface of the road.

Bonett said that the works are expected to last three weeks and will be carried out during the night where possible, to minimize inconvenience.

“This is just the first step. In fact, work is currently underway to design and prepare the necessary plans for the square to be given the face it deserves. We want a spacious, accessible, and beautiful square,” Bonett said.

He thanked Paola Mayor Dominic Grima for the support he gave Bonett since he became responsible for infrastructure, and supporting him in all Paola projects.

Residents had long been crying out for the square to be redone, and the works come just five years after the square was rehabilitated as part of a €3 million project.

Reacting to the news, the PN’s transport spokesperson Mark Anthony Sammut said that the whole project is a certificate of bad administration and of how public funds are not used properly by this government.

“This was a project which was announced nine years ago, and inaugurated with much pomp five years ago by the Labour Government. A project which cost €3 million, but only a few months after it was opened the disaster and shoddy work that had been done with public funds was immediately clear,” Sammut said.

Paving was lifted out of the road, parts of the street gave way, and fountains barely worked within months, he said, noting that this is confirmation that the works were not assessed or administered properly by those responsible.

He noted that people have since been injured while walking in the square due to the shoddy works, and the mature trees that had once characterised it and provided shade to those who used to go to the square are gone.

 

Sammut said that for the PN it’s a good thing that the “disaster” which the square was left in will finally be arranged, but noted that it would also be good to know who was responsible for the works and who will be making up for them.