The transport authority has started assessing the impact of re-routing part of the main road in Salini, a project that would fuse the two sections of a popular wooded picnic area through which the road now runs.

The project forms part of a €15 million EU road network project, Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said yesterday.

If the plans are approved, the main road that now cuts through Kennedy Grove park would be rerouted behind the wooded area.

The entire project, which includes the removal of the road next to Għadira Bay and rerouting it behind the Danish Village complex and the nature reserve, had raised eyebrows when it was announced by Transport Minister Austin Gatt in November.

The EU Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) project is 80 per cent EU-funded and involves the construction of one main road linking Ċirkewwa to Marsaxlokk.

However, if the project falls through, the plans for Salina road would have to change, Mr Pullicino said.

The rerouting would also form part of the Salina rehabilitation project that should be completed in three years' time at an estimated cost of €10 million - of which €4 million will be spent on the road.

The rehabilitation project is in its second phase with the removal of sludge blocking the storm watercourse around the salt pans.

The embellishment falls under the government's tourism plan for the Buġibba/Qawra area and also includes the afforestation of the park near the salt pans and the rehabilitation of Kennedy Grove.

The salt pans, which date back to the Knights of the Order of St John, are the only man-made ones in the Mediterranean, Mr Pullicino said. The metal huts, which used to store salt, would be restored and one would even be converted into a restaurant.

About €120 million of EU structural funds were being invested in Buġibba/Qawra area, Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco said.

The embellishment project would help boost an important tourism area which had around 13,000 beds and one third of Malta's hotels, he added.