The Marsalforn Administrative Committee has been left completely in the dark about construction work currently underway on the Marsalforn seafront. The development consists of a substantial extension of a pavement around Ekxa Kiosk, right in the middle of the Marsalforn seafront. 

The Malta Independent on Sunday spoke to the chairwoman and a member of the Administrative Committee, who both told this newspaper that the work in progress is not in accordance with the master plan for a project signed five years ago under the previous PN administration.

In comments to this newspaper, Administrative Committee chairwoman Maria Saliba said that the committee had spoken to the Ministry during the previous PN legislature about the entire front being pedestrianised. This suggestion, however, had not made any progress. Now, she says, she has no idea why the development has been started in the middle of the seafront around the Ekxa Kiosk. Her question, which has so far been left unanswered, is: “Are they going to stop there?” and ignore the master plan that had been agreed by all parties?

As a result of the work, the only road on the Marsalforn seafront is now one-way. “It would have made a lot more sense had they started the work from one side or the other, and not from the middle”, she said.

Should the public need have been for a wider pavement, it would have made more sense to have extended the section closer to the sea. Yet, for some “mysterious” reason, it is only the pavement around Ekxa kiosk that is being extended.

Frank Fenech, another member of the committee, said when contacted that when he spoke to the Ministry, he was told that the work was part of the master plan. However, when he asked to see the plan, he was given one that was different from the original one. He told this newspaper that he has no copy of the original plan and that the Administrative Committee has no idea what is going on.

This newsroom spoke to a number of residents and restaurant and bar owners in Marsalforn, all of whom are furious about what is happening, since no one had informed them about the plans. They have also insisted that this change in the infrastructure has been made to “cater” for the interests of one person, the owner of the nearby kiosk.

This newspaper has tried to contact Zebbug mayor Nicky Saliba a number of times, to no avail.