Mepa approves Maghtab rehabilitation project

lgalea

Mar 12th 2010, 08:51

Go for a picnic on Maghtab mountain with all the massive pollution on site?
NEVER in a thousand years.

J Martinelli

Mar 11th 2010, 22:17

@ wally vella-zarb

Very good comments but I ask, 'In whose back yard would another mountain of garbage been built at a time when recycling was quite an unused word'?

At least the PN sought and found alternatives and not begged the EU to hold back funds intended for the modernization of Sant'Antnin plant!

The rehabilitation, although not removing the only 'mountain' in Malta, will render the dump inert and turn it into an enjoyable spot and a source of energy. That's innovation.

I still remember the permanent smoldering rubbish dump on the way to Nigret and in those days it was not fashionable to hold protests, if I remember correctly. But then, those were other days when just getting by was a feat in itself!

Today we measure pollution in 'parts per trillion', some black dust raises questions in Parliament but forgotten are the times when the shipyards were in their hay day and soot floated throughout the Cottonera area and depending how the winds were blowing, as far as Hamrun and beyond.

Changing times, progressive times but moderation is still elusive.

a attard

Mar 11th 2010, 19:09

Can't be a bad thing turning a rubbish dump into a recreational park. Well done for any such initiative. Lets hope it will become a GREEN recreational park ones its done. One that provides much needed respite from the pollution (fumes, dust, noise and so on) that surrounds MOST areas these days!....and its set to get worse with the highrise trend. This will become the closest recreational park for the congested North harbor area....even though it will be a good 15min away by car for most. One keeps hoping that people living in congested areas will have some form of safe green recreational open spaces closer to home.

M. Xuereb

Mar 11th 2010, 16:23

"biex il-maghtab iwarrad" finally materialising....

wally vella-zarb

Mar 11th 2010, 15:59

@ Joe Vella

"a sensible PN Government would do away with the only monument that a PL Government had left behind for all to admire"

A silly comment that is just as silly as when a former PN minister first made that puerile quip. The 'sensible PN Government' continued to use that landfill upon taking office in 1987 until very recently. If that minister was so convinced of what he was saying, he should have taken immediate steps to 'cease and desist'. Of course, he got the answer that he deserved in subsequent elections...

l. dIMECH

Mar 11th 2010, 15:19

I do hope that this exciting project also takes into consideration the state of Ramla Road going into Triq il-Kappella ta'' Santa Marija, which once were well tarmaced roads rendered into potholed roads thanks to all the skip trucks and Scammels which are allowed to drive like the devil on them, illegally, as there is a sign specifically prohibiting entrance from the Burmarrad side.

Since Wardens only target the normal man in the street and not these 'tough' drivers of big trucks, who probably would make shortshrift of them, they never monitor the use of this road.

I have no doubt that rehabilitation of this area will eventually be another welcome success story for Malta.

However, I wonder how those long-suffering inhabitants of Maghtab, can be properly compensated for the bad air they breathe and the multitude of illnesses this has brought on them.

Maybe the gasses being released by the landfill and channelled through those pipes could be used to provide part of the residents' electricity supply. It might work cheaper than a group lawsuit to recover treatment and medical bills - each family has one or more members suffering due to the concentration of toxins in the air.

C.Sammut

Mar 11th 2010, 14:52

Vella, Martinelli et al.. surely you can't credit this mound to someone who was in office for such a short tenure? Blinkered comments as usual.

J Martinelli

Mar 11th 2010, 14:38

@ david meilak

A beautiful project indeed! But should the mount not be renamed as part of the rehabilitation?

Mount 'Sant' is much easier to pronounce than Mount 'Maghtab', don't you think? Since Dr. Sant is destined to become but a footprint in our history books, naming a mountain will immortalize his name.

It's only fitting, since Dr. Sant gave the mount such importance during the last election campaign that he found it necessary to officially visit the site with Jason & Co. and with Super One cameras rolling. Pity that there seemed to be no one else to enjoy the spectacle!

Joe Vella

Mar 11th 2010, 14:32

@ David Meilak

Alfred Sant, Joseph Muscat and the PL then were preoccupied that a sensible PN Government would do away with the only monument that a PL Government had left behind for all to admire.

david meilak

Mar 11th 2010, 13:26

A beautiful project. Another we wouldnt have done if we followed Joe Muscat' s opinion re EU. remember Alfred Sant and Co trying to hold a protest there saying tat it is still being used as a dump? It takes time to give a good reply sometimes...........but most ofthe time..............the truth always comes out desn't it?

Albert Bezzina

Mar 11th 2010, 13:22

Chance to build a solar thermal plant at this site blown away. Urban open space developed into more empty apartment blocks and zillions of sq meters of retail space while rubbish dumps converted into recreational space complete with adjoining patch of coast line with sea water laced with heavy metals.

Anthony Mizzi

Mar 11th 2010, 12:44

Hopefully this positive rehabilitation project is not a diversive tactic for another pending application at MEPA on an ODZ at Mellieha?

http://www.mepa.org.mt/news-details?id=431

http://www.dinlarthelwa.org/content/view/243/59/

C.Sammut

Mar 11th 2010, 12:05

Thumbs up! Weather trees and bushes will survive remains to be seen. Weren't we promised lavender bushes once?