The Malta Airport Foundation together with Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna today officially inaugurated the fully restored Combined Operations Room and ancillary rooms which are part of a warren of tunnels and chambers found underneath the Upper Barrakka in Valletta.

Originally built by the Order of Saint John in 1566, these tunnels were converted into war headquarters by the British in 1941. The Combined Operations Room received information from several ancillary rooms which allowed military strategists working from this nerve centre to direct all defensive and offensive naval and military action in and from Malta, particularly during the Air Battle for Malta during World War II. Further adding to Combined Operations Room’s historical significance is the fact that it was the first in history to serve both defensive and offensive roles.

The underground complex, of which the Combined Operations Room forms part, was later used by NATO as a submarine tracking centre and had an active role in both the Suez Crisis of 1956 and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, before its doors closed in 1977. Years of disuse and flooding had taken their toll on the infrastructure and important artefacts which inject the complex with added historical value by shedding more light on the important events which unfolded here.

“We are confident that this restored complex, which is essentially a war museum where visitors can travel back in time to re-live history-defining moments, will further enrich Valletta’s unique offering. It is of great satisfaction that with the Malta Airport Foundation’s support Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna overcame the many challenges encountered throughout this mammoth restoration project and is today re-opening the doors of this fantastic attraction to the public,” said Malta Airport Foundation Chairman Mr Josef Formosa Gauci.  

“Given the state these rooms were found in, their restoration was a huge undertaking which could not have been fully realised without the financial support of the Malta Airport Foundation. Now that the restoration of the Combined Operations Room and adjacent rooms has been completed, we believe that this underground complex has the potential to be one of the top military attractions on the island,” said Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna Chairman Mr Mario Farrugia.

The Malta Airport Foundation’s contribution to this restoration project, which has sought to preserve and bring to the fore some of Malta’s forgotten wartime heritage, amounted to almost €340,000, making it the Foundation’s largest investment in Malta’s cultural product to date. Part of this investment was channelled into the restoration of an impressive 20-metre-wide map which was used by NATO in the 1960s to plot Russian submarine movements in the Mediterranean. It is interesting to note that during the restoration process of this map, which is hand-painted on wood panels as was common during that period, two even older maps were uncovered.

The Malta Airport Foundation was established in 2014 to invest in Malta’s heritage and the environment, and the Combined Operations Room is its first Valletta-based restoration project.