New Vittoriosa apartments nearing completion

An apartment block close to Fort St Angelo, in Vittoriosa, developed by the Cottonera Waterfront Group, is expected to receive its first residents by the end of this month, Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said yesterday.

The apartments, which sold for about Lm100,000 each, share the promontory with the historic fort with part of them facing Senglea and the other part facing Kalkara.

There are 101 apartments.

During a visit to Vittoriosa to see how the project is shaping up, Dr Zammit Dimech said the Caraffa stores had been cleared of mounds of rubbish and the walls and floors cleaned of paint and a multitude of graffitti.

The CWG has so far invested Lm14 million, out of which Lm9 were spent in the building of the apartment block, the restoration of the Caraffa stores - built in 1689 as stores for the galleys of the Order of St John and in the cleaning of the tunnels under Fort St Angelo.

In all, the Cottonera waterfront project is expected to cost another Lm6-8 million.

The yacht marina and facilities, which cost Lm4 million, were taken in hand by the Grand Harbour Marina, a subsidiary of the CWG. So far, about 25 per cent of the berths have been booked for the full year.

Dr Zammit Dimech said that the tender for the rehabilitation and the strengthening of the quay below Fort St Angelo had been issued. The work, which will cost more than Lm300,000, will be funded by the government.

The public will still have access to the area around the block of apartments by means of a foot path that would lead to Kalkara. Moreover, a public garden and belvedere over the block of apartments will allow visitors and locals the chance to enjoy a breathtaking view of Grand Harbour.

CWG chairman Edward Scicluna said that all the work done so far was completed within a year of the development permits being issued by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

The final phase of the project, which will be a spa hotel, will be completed in two years' time. That will involve the rehabilitation of the water distilling plant that formed part of the potable distribution system at Fort St Angelo installed by the British Navy in the first half of the 19th century.

Architect Michael Ellul, who is a Mepa heritage consultant, said the project presented a tough proposition in the sense that one had to marry the historic features with a modern setting.

Parliamentary secretary Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said that about 30 local boat owners had entered into an arrangement with the marina company to moor their boats at the marina paying a nominal perpetual annual fee of Lm1.