Social Dialogue Minister Helena Dalli said that work on Piazza Antoine de Paule in Paola, where government is investing €3 million in an effort to regenerate the area, has resumed.

She praised the work by the Consultative Council for the South, which she said is committed to continue carrying out refurbishment projects in the South of Malta.

Over the past two years, she said, work in relation to the project has occurred, including the removal of trees, work in the Mediterranean garden, as well as the relocation of the public latrine.

She appealed to the public so that no vandalism will occur on public property, and to keep the area clean.

Consultative Council Chairman for the South Region Silvio Parnis said that this project is being done after an entire consultation process, which included the public and the residents in 2015 and earlier.

He said that on the advice of the GRTU, it was decided that the square will not be completely pedestrianised in order to strengthen the commercial entities in the area. At the same time, he said, the project grants adequate space for families and children to spend their down time in a secure environment.

The contractor, he said, is bound to finish the contract in 15 months from its start, and if the timeframe is not observed, fines will apply.