Reconstructing the Vittoriosa Tower

I refer to the three letters (The Sunday Times, September 17) about the possible reconstruction of the most important landmark of Vittoriosa, the watchtower on the main square.

While I thank the words of praise for the work done at Vittoriosa by the Cottonera Rehabilitation Project, I wish to emphasise that this is part of an ongoing project undertaken by the Ministry for Resources and Infrastructure and which will in the next years be greatly increased thanks to EU funding.

I agree with those who wrote that the problem with the lack of tourism in Vittoriosa will not be solved only by the rebuilding of this tower. However I do strongly believe that the addition of such a landmark will be very beneficial to the whole of Vittoriosa. We need new attractions and we need to make sure that the tourist stays in Vittoriosa, contrary to what is happening now, for much more than an hour.

Mr Anthony Farrugia has misinterpreted my description of what we intend to do or maybe I did not explain myself enough. In conservation terms today we prefer not to build an exact replica, in the sense that it must be very clear, and this is done through various ways, that this would be a 21st century replica of the original. We are not simply copying the original. However we will be as loyal to the original design as possible.

I wish also to emphasise that there are various examples of the rebuilding of landmarks in historic cities and a lot of statistics to show how these landmarks help to attract visitors.

Fr Paul Chetcuti has, in his introduction, mixed up the work of the local council and CRP. The council is represented on the Cottonera Rehabilitation Committee, which advises the minister on how the CRP should operate, by the mayor. There are also two other members from Vittoriosa, namely Lawrence Zahra and Lawrence Farrugia. They are however two completely independent authorities.

I wish to assure Fr Chetcuti we are well aware of the importance of the main square and how this contributes to the local social and cultural life.

Indeed the intention is to pave the square immediately after the clock tower is rebuilt and to give as much of the square as possible to pedestrians. The mayor of Vittoriosa has already pedestrianised most of the square in keeping with the Master Plan and this work will be further enhanced when the square is paved.

Furthermore, the reintroduction of a historical landmark will, I am sure, make the Vittorjosani more proud of their city and our surveys show that they are in favour, although people complain about lack of parking space. I find it highly objectionable of him to state that this is "yet another commercially motivated project" when this is absolutely not the case. Our interest is to restore dignity to Vittoriosa and to ensure that it benefits from tourism like the rest of the country.

Surely Fr Chetcuti is not against having more economic activity in Vittoriosa? In any case our interest is the safeguarding of cultural heritage and the rehabilitation of the city.

The main square of Vittoriosa was dominated by this watchtower and it is fitting that this is rebuilt on the same spot as the original to remind one and all of the importance of this historical city which finally is getting the full attention it deserves.