Work being carried out by the Resources and Infrastructure Ministry expresses the government’s commitment to create a better environment through the rehabilitation of the national heritage, Minister Ninu Zammit said yesterday.

Speaking while visiting workers employed on the restoration of the National Library in Valletta, Mr Zammit said the building’s structure had deteriorated over the years and needed to be restored.

The restoration work includes the removal of a thin black layer of soot that accumulated over the portico. It has also emerged that the type of stone used for the building of the portico was rather weak, and therefore great attention needs to be made so as not to cause any damage while the restoration work is taking place.

The facade of the building is also being restored, and the project is expected to be concluded by the end of the year.