Malta’s population is increasing, and quite dramatically. Recent statistics show that in 2014, Malta had a total population of 429,344.

In 1980, there were only 316,000 of us. That has grown steadily as the decades have gone by. In 1990, there were 354,000 people in Malta, in 2000, there were 381,000 and in 2010, there were 414,000 of us.

When one considers that the general population has increased by over 100,000 in 34 years, it gives us an idea of the scale of things.  Statistics show that apart from a dip between 1960 and 1982, largely due to Maltese emigrating, population growth has been mostly steady. Fairly rapid, but steady. There were a few spikes along the way, most notably at the turn f the millennium, and that seems to be explained by a sharp increase in the amount of people who arrived in Malta by boat from Africa to seek asylum. But since then, the upward creeping line has continued.

Of course, the results are before any data is released and factored in, in terms of the citizenship for sale scheme.

The birth rate seems to have slowed a tad since 2010, but it is still hovering above the 10 births per 10,0000 population.

There are a number of high rise projects which are in the pipeline, and some of the designs have drawn the ire of environmentalist groups as well as politicians, who want a strategic plan to be drawn up before the construction of any more large buildings.

There are many issues that come with high-rise residential towers. We keep talking about putting more housing on the market, but a simple conversation with any real estate agent will tell you that most of the units in such developments are for high-end customers with never ending budgets.

In other words, this is not going to be affordable housing. There is no doubt that Malta cannot continue to eat away at the little countryside which is left. But we also need to ensure that if we are going to build upwards, there is a proper framework in place to allow the projects to work.

Traffic, of course, is of major concern. Another issue of concern is that some buildings are going to be completely over shadowed by such developments. And what about water systems and sewerage?

Another very pertinent question to ask is how the Civil Protection Department are trained to deal with, evacuations, for instance, in the event of a fire or some sort of other threat.

Yes, there are areas where Malta needs to consider high rises. But we must do it with a plan. For starters, such developments need to have as little impact as possible on Malta’s skyline. But we also need to think about the practical issues. Malta, by nature, has always been a bit like an ever expanding ant nest, in terms of the way villages have sprawled out. That was a mistake. But should we continue to make the same mistake in allowing buildings to shoot upward without even having a thought of how they are going to impact  on Malta in the future? We also need to make sure that these high rises also address the issue of expensive housing and lack of development opportunities for Maltese families. Building skyscrapers for the rich will only lead to the uglification of Malta. Doing it with a properly researched plan just might help solve the issue of evaporating countryside.