Environmental Landscape Consortium projects planned for the coming year include the Luqa-Qormi road, the Srina and Mtarfa roundabouts, the Qormi to Zebbug road, and the Birkirkara Bypass.
The ELC, a public-private partnership, had its contract renewed yesterday. Signing were Rural Affairs and Environment Minister George Pullicino, and Finance Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech, who both said that the signing was a result of the satisfactory work carried out by ELC.
Mr Fenech said the contract was for Lm3 million, or Lm400,000 more than the preceding contract. The money covered the salaries of these government workers who included workers previously employed with Kalaxlokk and IPSL and who became part of the ELC team five years ago when the partnership was founded.
Mr Fenech said the ELC today employed 250 workers and that the new contract was an extended version of the original, constituting a number of innovations, including zone areas which required further maintenance.
Prior to the signing of the contract, a detailed survey was carried out to ensure that every area falling within the investment was being well-maintained on a regular basis.
Mr Fenech said he hoped this investment would continue to grow and that ELC contracts would continue to be renewed.
Minister Pullicino said that in the past year, apart from the 34U tree-planting campaign, the ELC planted a total of 3,789 trees, 67,400 plants and shrubs, as well as 439,500 seasonal flower-pots.
The total area covered by ELC landscaping works has reached 433,000 square metres. These areas have been expanded and this was because the ELC has additional responsibilities with the expansion of new government projects such as the landscaping of the Mater Dei hospital, arterial roads, new distributaries and new recreational zones.
The involvement of ELC was not limited to landscaping, but included as well the design of projects such as water catchments and irrigation systems and other procedures which embellished the landscape, the minister said.
He explained that the large number of plants and trees planted by the ELC were watered and maintained by the consortium itself. This was possible because of development of the consortium’s facilities, such as the expansion of the Wied Incita nursery which covers 70 per cent of the zone of the 125 tumoli of land, as well as the construction of the plant production zone for up to 40,000 flower-pots.
ELC chairperson Peter Calamatta, who was also present, thanked Mr Fenech and Mr Pullicino for their confidence in the consortium’s work. He said that the signing of the contract proved that in the past five years, these projects had been well-completed and expressed his satisfaction that these landscaping works have been approved by both the public and the government.