A project, worth an estimated Lm400,000, to landscape the Cottonera Waterfront is expected to start in the coming weeks, The Malta Independent has learnt.

Sources said the government is planning to fork out Lm170,000 from the Urban Development and Roads’ budget for this project, while the rest will be invested by the various consortia currently engaged in the Cottonera Waterfront project.

Sources said the designs for the landscaped areas were prepared by the ministry with some input from the consortia. Permit applications were submitted to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority late last year and the tender documents are presently being drafted.

The landscaping project of the Cottonera Waterfront was one of the points mentioned by the government, when it issued the development brief for the Dock Number One area. One of the primary objectives of the Dock 1 development was to provide a continuous waterfront from Senglea point to Fort St Angelo.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, a spokesman for the ministry said that the landscaping project of the waterfront could only be carried out now that most of the heavy infrastructural works along the waterfront have been completed.

The project – expected to be completed by summer – involves the widening of the walkways and their paving with hard stone, the rehabilitation of the existing storm water system, the construction of a new road running in the middle as well as the installation of street furniture and lighting. The work will be carried out from the gate inwards.

The components of the Cottonera Waterfront redevelopment project that have been completed to date include the Casinò di Venezia, the development of St Angelo Mansions, the extension of St Angelo Wharf, the opening of Grand Harbour marina, the restoration of the Caraffa Stores, the construction of a sea wall at Kalkara Creek and the redevelopment of the Treasury Building.

“The upgraded waterfront will eventually join up with the development of the Cospicua waterfront which will form part of the Dock Number 1 project which at present is at selection stage,” the spokesman said.

The Cottonera Waterfront Group, which is responsible for the Cottonera Waterfront project, is one of the two consortia which have been short-listed for the project involving the development of Dock No.1 in Cospicua. The other consortium is Gruppo Romegas.

The Cottonera Waterfront Group is composed of the following companies: Vassallo Builders Group Limited, Ballut Blocks Limited, Blokrete Limited, Hal Mann Holdings Limited, Alberta Projects Limited, B&C Limited, Cassar Grech Ebejer & Partners, Edward Bencini & Associates, Raniolo Limited and Applied Economics Consulting Limited.

The Gruppo Romegas is composed of British company Yoo Ltd, Rosso Cachia Ltd which is a local subsidiary of the Italian firm Franco Rosso, S. N. Immobiliare Srl and Desert Rose Ltd.

The investment in the Dock 1 re-development, expected to be to the tune of at least Lm12 million, will see the regeneration of the dock and its surroundings, which is planned to extend the waterfront along the Senglea, Cospicua and Vittoriosa waterfront and the embellishment of this area.

The existing dock will not be destroyed as part of this project.

The main objectives of the project are the consolidation of the waterfront along Senglea, Cospicua and Vittoriosa into one continuous waterfront, the provision of access to the waterfront to the local residents, the re-design of various open spaces and the promotion of financial investment from the private sector, among other things.