In a bid to increase the chances of survival of newly planted saplings, Infrastructure Malta has introduced a concept whereby they do not just 'buy' a tree, but implement a long-term care programme, a spokesperson for Infrastructure Malta told The Malta Independent.

This ensures that the contractors – who are instructed by arborists and other environmental experts − take care of the trees before getting paid, which is “unlike planting contracts in the past which were not linked to maintenance and watering agreements,” noted the spokesperson.  

The estimate total value of Infrastructure Malta’s tree planting programme to date, including the cost of watering and caring of planted trees and shrubs during the next few years, is around €9.5 million, the spokesperson said.

Nonetheless, several people have spoken out about how some of trees by Infrastructure Malta in mid-May seem to already be dying. Some suspect they were planted not deep enough in the soil for example.

The latest social media outburst about dying saplings was made by Nationalist Party candidate Clifford Zahra Fenech, who posted on Facebook about 20 newly IM planted saplings between Santa Venera and Mriehel on Industry Road, which appear to be dying.

These trees were planted in mid-May 2021 by contractor Sicilville Landscaping Malta following a call for tenders in 2019. This species of trees was selected for this new roadside landscaping strip as it was identified as being the most suitable for the area’s ground conditions by the contractor's experienced tree planters, the IM spokesperson said.

The agency told this newsroom that it “noticed that some of the trees at L-Industrija Road seem to have dried up − despite the fact that they were regularly watered throughout the summer months − and immediately asked the contractor to check them.” 

“Allegations that the trees died are not confirmed since the dried needles could be a sign of leaf scorch,” the spokesperson added.

Infrastructure Malta estimated that the watering and upkeep of trees, including pruning, staking and cleaning, is estimated to cost an average of €24 per tree, every year.

Up until Wednesday, during a press conference for the Central Link Project, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Ian Borg stated that he had “no reports that any of Infrastructure Malta’s newly planted saplings were dying”, but that if there was a one off case scenario, the said trees would be replaced.

He said that due to this summer’s unprecedented heat, even mature trees in the care of local councils and other entities were suffering for the first time across the island and hence had to be watered manually.

Many trees planted by Infrastructure Malta are not contracted by them. In working alongside NGOs like Caritas and Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna and planting trees on land already in their care, the respective NGOs will usually to maintain these trees themselves, the IM spokesperson said.

Additionally, some of the trees planted by Infrastructure Malta are cared for by Environmental Landscapes Consortium (ELC) contractors − namely those trees planted near roundabouts and arterial roads − a process which was set up by government entities before IM was launched, he added.

Thus, those trees planted by IM near residential or rural roadside areas are the ones whose care remains their responsibility and for which they establish their own agreements with contractors to ensure “continued care”.

The contractors who have provided Infrastructure Malta with landscaping and tree-planting services since 2019 include Xerri’s Landscaping Co. Ltd, Environmental Landscaping Consortium, IO Projects Ltd, Texas Corporation Ltd, Emanuel Attard Landscaping, Sicilville Ltd, Callus Garden Centre and Anthony Cassar Landscaping Services.

Many of the trees that Infrastructure Malta planted since 2019 and that it will be planting in the coming months were sourced through contracts issued following calls for tenders in 2019. In other cases, when the tree planting resources required are not available through these contracts, the agency obtains these services by direct order at fair and reasonable rates that are equivalent to the ones secured by the tender contracts, the IM spokesperson said.