War rooms to reopen at Christmastime

Restoration works at the Lascaris War Rooms are well underway and the World War II Operational Headquarters is set to reopen its doors to the public at Christmastime.

The rooms have been closed since 2005 when the company which managed them went bankrupt. They were this year handed over by the government to Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna to be restored and reopened.

During a visit by Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt and Lands Parliamentary Secretary Jason Azzopardi, FWA chairman Mario Farrugia said he had planned to open the rooms earlier but could not do so because of the lack of information about them during the war.

He said the war rooms were being restored to their original stat,e after they were modified in 1978. However, the plans could not be found in Malta and were eventually found in London.

Dr Gatt said this the project was closely associated with the Piano plans for the entrance of Valletta and a ring road would be linking the two ditches.

He also said three lifts, one of which is pending approval, would also be built to the heart of Valletta.