It was the former film commissioner Oliver Mallia’s company which handled the shooting of the film Game of Thrones, which caused the environmental damage at Dwejra.

These results were contained in a paper tabled in the House by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi in reply to a question by Owen Bonnici (PL).

Mr Mallia’s company, Pellikola, based in Qormi, applied for the Mepa permit on 8 July, 2010. The high-profile television project, Mr Mallia wrote in a covering letter, is produced by Home Box Office and is aimed at being broadcast worldwide. The first season is likely to debut in the USA in Spring 2011.

Pellikola Ltd, Mr Mallia added, is the local production service company set up to produce the Malta part of the project on behalf of HBO. The production would be employing over 150 local crew and have a public liability insurance of €5 million to cover any occurrence. “All health and safety precautions will be taken to limit any risk of damage or injury on any of the sites that are to be used,” Mr Mallia wrote.

Mr Mallia also explained that the production was looking at filming at several heritage locations around the island and, since the story is set in a fictional medieval world, a considerable amount of dressing and construction would be required at all locations. All builds would be of a temporary nature and every location would be reinstated to its original status once filming was completed.

Apart from Dwejra, other locations listed as being considered for shooting included Verdala Palace, San Anton Palace, Rdum id-Delli (Mellieha), Fort St Elmo, Mdina and Fort Ricasoli.