A healthy environment - February 17, 2010

The residents of Birżebbuġa have again been betrayed. Both the chairman of the Freeport Corporation and the Prime Minister repeatedly proclaimed that the extension of Terminal 1 has been unanimously approved by Parliament. So far, no member of the opposition has denied this but they are claiming that any development which is harmful to the residents of Birżebbuġa should not have been approved. It is a bit too late for that now. No one had any doubt that Mepa would finally give the green light to the project despite refusing the application in February 2009.

The approved extension of Terminal 1 will deliver the final blow to one of only a handful of sandy beaches in the south of the island and paves the way for more heavy industry encroachment on the surrounding environment of Birżebbuġa and Marsaxlokk. This act of transgression on the rights of the citizens of Birżebbuġa will inevitably have far-reaching social impacts.

All pleasure craft owners with craft moored in the area will have to find alternative places to moor their boats.

The area will be dredged, affecting the entire bay up to Pretty Bay.

No one will be able to swim in the area every time a vessel berths alongside the extended area on account of the murky water created by the tugboats. Much larger vessels currently mooring further out will now be able to moor at the reclaimed area.

The area housing the Birżebbuġa Sailing Club will probably also be engulfed by the Freeport authority. It would be another sport facility, after the waterpolo pitch and at least three full-size football pitches sacrificed, along the years, in the interest of the massive industrial development in the area which Malta, being a very small island, could never afford.

The immediate residents will have to endure the unbearable noise and sea pollution which will surely ensue. The Freeport is claiming that it will invest to reduce the noise pollution, one of the reasons quoted which Mepa considered to change its decision. How can they insult the citizens' intelligence in this manner and get away free? What a shameful act the reformed Mepa is turning out to be!

The citizens of Birżebbuġa and Marsaxlokk will have no option but to endure further transgression of their rights and brace themselves for more harmful consequences when the power station is also extended very soon.

Any MEP or MP willing to take up the case with the EU? In my opinion, this is a much more serious issue than that of the overcharged vehicle registration fees. It concerns a basic right to live in a healthy environment which most of us, including the undersigned, aspired for when we voted to join the EU.