The unique salt pans at Salini, which date back to the time of the knights, will start being reused once a €10 million project rehabilitating the area is concluded.

The project, currently in its second phase, was this afternoon visited by Resources Minister George Pullicino and Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco.

This second phase involved the cleaning up of the storm water course. The aim is to get the sea water again flowing around the salt pans, which are the only manmade salt pans in the Meiterranean.

The first phase of the project was the afforestation of park and the third will be the rehabilitation of Kennedy Grove.

The project also includes the restoration of some of the metal buildings where salt used to be stored during the British period. One would be turned into a restaurant and the whole area would be open to the public.

Mr Pullicino said that the project should be completed within three years. He said that €4 million of the cost was for construction of the a which if approved, would be diverted to form part of the Trans-European Transport Network.

Dr de Marco described the area as very important for tourism saying there were 13,000 beds between Qawra and Bugibba and 300 registered tourist establishments.

He said that around a third of Malta’s hotels were in this area. The project would attract more tourists to the area, where €120 million of EU structural funds were to be invested.