The field which once belonged to the infamous Ċikku Fenech will be turned into an open green space as part of a national urban greening project, the government announced on Wednesday.
The field in Mosta, which has since been abandoned, measures over 4,000 square metres and is within the development zone but will retain its position as a green lung in the area as part of a €4.5 nationwide urban greening project.
The area already holds typical Maltese tree species such as olive and cypress trees, but is not cultivated and lies abandoned.
The field has a grizzly past: it was the site of a murder in 1963 when Ċikku Fenech shot Ċikku Vella after a heated argument which centred on the latter trespassing on Fenech’s field.
Fenech spent three months on the run, becoming Malta’s most wanted man for a period, before turning himself in to police. Fenech avoided the death penalty, instead being sentenced to 15 years in prison – of which he served a good deal less – and ultimately passed away in 2014.
The regeneration project of the field was announced by Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Communities Alex Muscat in the presence of Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia and WasteServ CEO Richard Bilocca.
The project will be financed by funds acquired through Malta’s passport-selling scheme which went into the National Development and Social Fund (NDSF) and the project will be administered by GreenServ.
The project will aim to conserve the fragile ecosystems in the field while also making it more accessible to people.
Other areas in Hamrun, Qormi, and Zabbar will also be turned into green lungs as part of the project.
In comments after the announcement, Farrugia said that the project is one of many where the government is seeking to turn dilapidated zones into recreational green areas. The project, he said, is based on a grey-to-green concept and aims to take the country’s ecological transition to the next level.
Muscat meanwhile reminded how the NDSF has been used for many positive projects across the island, and said that the government is committed to investing further in the community.