The major greening project envisaged for San Ġwann, which aims to create an open space in the centre of the locality, will serve as a ‘blueprint’ for other projects, San Gwann mayor Trevor Fenech said.

It was announced recently that San Ġwann will be getting 6,500 square metres of green open space in place of what is currently its most urbanised and traffic-heavy area, while an underpass will be created for traffic to pass through.

Presently, Vjal ir-Rihan is part of a busy stretch which leads drivers through the heart of San Gwann as they make their way from Tal-Balal area to St Julian’s and Sliema, and vice-versa.

Replying to questions by The Malta Independent on Sunday, the mayor said that the details of the project will see what is so far the town centre, which also includes the parish church of the locality, become an open space for residents and visitors to enjoy.

Fenech, who contributed to the initial idea of the project, said that the reconstruction of Gnien Karen Grech, which is situated at one end of Vjal ir-Rihan, next to the primary school, was already part of the PL manifesto for the locality of San Gwann. 

“When I had met with the current architect for this project, there was an exchange of ideas and we developed this concept of creating an open space in the centre of San Gwann.  Before the idea was proposed to the central government, there was a unanimous decision during the council meeting for this project to take place,” Fenech said.

Now, this project has been taken up by Project Green, the agency which will be entrusted on delivering on the €700m promised by government for green spaces around the country.

Fenech said that he is pleased that the San Gwann project will be one of the first projects being launched by the agency.

Four more projects in the locality will also be starting imminently, which include the pollinator garden, Gnien George Zarb, the Cart Ruts project as well as the creation of a garden in Triq il-Kampanella.

Asked about what he envisages for the Vjal ir-Rihan project, Fenech said that the vision is to eliminate all surface parking and traffic and have these shifted underground.

“The proposed project will increase parking and create a substantial open space incorporating the current Gnien Karen Grech, Misrah Lewza, Misrah Lourdes, part of Vjal ir-Rihan and the pedestrianisation of Triq il-Kappella. This will contribute to better mobility in our locality and a better quality of life,” Fenech said.

Fenech added that the project is of benefit to residents and visitors alike. Traffic and parking will be underground, thus improving air quality and reducing noise pollution.

Moreover, the number of parking spaces will be increased. The creation of recreational open space will also have facilities for everyone to enjoy, Fenech said.

A large, main area would have to be blocked off during construction of the project. Asked about expected negative impacts, Fenech said that it is inevitable that some inconvenience is created during every major project’s construction.

“However, we will work with Project Green and all stakeholders, to keep this inconvenience to a minimum as much as possible. A traffic management plan will also be in place to address traffic impact during construction,” he said.

The underpass proposed for the project would supposedly direct traffic, however, there has been no mention of where the underpass would start and end.

Fenech did not divulge details on the underpass, but said that shortly, a joint public consultation meeting will be held by the local council and Project Green, during which such details will be provided.

As work on the project is taking place, businesses in the area will surely be impacted. Asked how the local council plans to mitigate this, Fenech said that a meeting with the businesses that will be affected by this project will take place to listen to any concerns or questions they may have to ensure a smooth operation.

Fenech was also asked how long the project will take to materialise, to which he said that information relating to the timeframe of the project will be provided during the public consultation exercise.

Fenech said that following a number of visits in the area, residents and businesses he had conversation with provided positive feedback on the project.

He said that the San Gwann local council maintains regular contact with the CEO of Project Green Steve Ellul, having met with him and other officials on many occasions regarding the project.

“A sketch has been done; however, this will be further discussed during the public consultation exercise which will be held shortly. This is a project for the people and therefore we will be consulting with them every step of the way, before and even during the implementation phase,” Fenech said.

Fenech was also asked about a separate issue, the obstruction of part of Naxxar Road in San Gwann, which links with Vjal ir-Rihan, particularly near the BOV branch. A recent widening of the road was thought to ease the problem, but parking spaces have been added which means that the bottleneck persists.

Asked about this, Fenech said that the area mentioned is given priority, however it is not possible to station an officer 24 hours a day in the area. Fenech said that LESA officials and community police in San Gwann are doing an excellent job.