There is certainly a valid argument to be made, as the Prime Minister did recently, for the country, considering its serious spatial limitations and concerns over its creeping urban sprawl, to build vertically as opposed to horizontally.

There are several high-rise and skyscraper developments being planned for the country at present, the vast majority of which are spread between the Sliema-Gzira and the Paceville-St George’s Bay areas. 

So far, the high-rise developments that have actually been approved – major planning decisions with inevitable long-term impacts on the urban environment – have been approved in a piecemeal fashion and without being underpinned by a clear vision or strategy as to where we want to go as a country in this respect.

This lack of a holistic plan could very well result in uncontrolled developments and unpredictable impacts on urban life. Moreover, the construction of such large-scale projects will undoubtedly aggravate traffic problems on the already heavily congested road network in these areas.

What is abundantly clear is that future tall building developments should not be considered without a master plan. The concept of a possible moratorium as was recently proposed along such lines, however, has been dismissed by the Prime Minister.

As regards Paceville, the Planning Authority has informed this newspaper that it will soon launch a new public consultation on a number of options specifically for the area. This in itself is good news, but is this a case of just more piecemeal planning? Without a truly holistic vision for high-rises and skyscrapers, it is the nation as a whole that will suffer at the end of the day.

As far as the public is aware, the only attempt to study the prospect of the further development of skyscrapers and/or high-rises in Malta was made back in 2008. It had been commissioned by the then Malta Environment and Planning Authority to a Fulbright scholar and Chicago-based expert on tall buildings.

That report had, for a number of reasons, advised that the country should not allow any buildings to exceed 24 storeys – one storey higher than the country’s currently highest building, the Portomaso tower. 

It is true that tall buildings can replace dilapidated buildings and create a modern urban skyline that attracts foreign investment. It is, however, questionable whether Malta is undergoing the kind of accelerated economic growth that would justify the construction boom that is being proposed, particularly of late, or whether there is the demand from the foreign market for the kind of residential and/or office block towers that are being proposed.

High-rise districts with appropriate amenities, parking facilities, pedestrian and bus links are also essential to such projects. But, unfortunately, an efficient public transport system, which is key to successful tall buildings, is still sorely lacking in Malta. The inadequate utility infrastructure – electricity, water and drains – also needs to be upgraded to meet the needs of such structures. 

Very detailed studies certainly need to be carried out on these and other economic and social factors, and a master plan must be developed before proceeding with the approval for such projects. The country cannot simply rush headlong into such projects, no matter how tempting they may be. 

As a country, we need to look very, very carefully before we take this enormous leap.