Opposition MP Michael Piccinino told Parliament on Wednesday that the Knights' era underground reservoir in Tarxien only suffered damaged following a road collapse on Monday because Infrastructure Malta did not consult official site plans.

During a discussion related to Heritage Malta's financial estimates, PN MP Piccinino mentioned how earlier this week, a cistern dating back centuries to the Knights of St. John was wrecked as works were being done in Tarxien Square. These works were part of a repaving project.

Nobody was injured in this incident that left an excavator at the centre of collapse radius.

The Opposition MP stated that, according to one Tarxien resident he spoke to, "every Tarxien resident besides Infrastructure Minister Jonathan Attard knows that there was a reservoir there." Minister Attard is from Tarxien.

While giving his intervention on this incident, Piccinino brought out a copy of the Tarxien Square site plans. He told the House of Representatives that "an existing well" is clearly marked to exist in the area. Hence, he deduced that the shock at Infrastructure Malta "finding" the reservoir following the road collapse must have meant that the agency did not refer to the area's site plans while proceeding with the works.

Piccinino said that this lack of care demonstrated plenty that national authorities must raise the bar in order to preserve Maltese heritage, especially when the country is so rich in this regard.

This road collapse is still being evaluated by the relevant authorities.