Repairing the ramparts

One of the most important assets of the Maltese islands lies in the astonishing wealth of physical remains from its past - buildings and sites which stand monument to a unique historical experience spanning thousands of years. Without a doubt, a central pillar of this built-up heritage is the defence architecture, which requires urgent attention to ensure that it is preserved and maintained.

Aware of the uniqueness of this architectural heritage, and the scale and magnitude of the effort necessary to redress its long standing predicament, the Maltese government had sought, way back in 2004, to benefit from any assistance offered by the European Union through its various programmes to fund the study, documentation of, and intervention on, its historic fortifications (for further information please visit the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs' website www.mrra.gov.mt, under the section Works and Services).

The four chosen sites, namely Valletta, Vittoriosa, Mdina and the Cittadella, were selected for their historical and architectural significance, the extent of damage and decay to their fabric and, last but not least, for their economic and tourism potential.

The European funds will allow the government to tackle some of the most pressing priorities, enabling large parts of the ramparts to be cleaned, repaired and opened to the public, as places of cultural and leisure activities.

The desired restoration and rehabilitation works, as outlined in the project proposal, therefore will serve to give the fortifications greater dignity as historical monuments and also allow them to be integrated productively into the overall tourism product by harnessing their economic and cultural potential.

My ministry, which is now responsible for directing the effort, is well aware of the fact that these four fortified sites are not the only works of fortification deserving restoration.

The 25 kilometres of fortifications in the harbour areas alone, not to mention the 12 kilometres of the Victoria lines, and the scores of Victorian period forts, coastal towers, batteries and pillboxes, mean that these chosen works are only the start, albeit an important one, of a nationwide effort that will eventually expand to encompass most of Malta's military architectural heritage. Limiting factors such as infrastructural and financial considerations, however, have dictated the adoption of a strategy based on selective criteria aimed at holistic programmes of restoration rather than piecemeal interventions.

Even so, these four selected projects still comprise a very substantial investment, involving some 135,000m2 of rampart elevations over a combined perimeter length of around six kilometres at an estimated cost (including some rehabilitation and floodlighting) of around €36 million spread over the next five years, until 2013.

This is no mean task by any restoration standard. This project is part-financed by the EU's European Regional Development Fund under Operation Programme I Investing in Competitiveness for a Better Quality of Life for Cohesion Policy 2007-2013, with a co-financing rate of 85 per cent EU funds (ERDF) and 15 per cent national funds.

Indeed, this will be the first restoration intervention programme to be implemented on such a massive scale in the modern history of our nation - surely an unequivocal statement of the government's commitment to safeguard, valorise and promote its historical fortifications as a central feature of the nation's cultural assets.

Tenders for the proposed works have been under preparation by the Restoration Unit for nearly the past two years or so.

In order to ensure that we raise the awareness on our heritage, plans are also in hand for the setting up of a permanent interactive exhibition centre on the country's fortifications. I will be in a position to announce more details on this initiative in due course, but preliminary discussions are already underway in order to have this centre operational in the near future.

The government's commitment towards our future generations means that we must safeguard our past for our future.

These concrete initiatives are putting into practice our promise to guarantee a better quality of life to everyone and ensuring that the environment, one of the pillars of this government's agenda, is being cared for and preserved.

Mr Pullicino is Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs.