Students take harbour cruise with Prime Minister

Primary school students pricked their ears yesterday for a special history lesson as they toured the fortifications undergoing rest-oration works around Grand Harbour accompanied by the Prime Minister.

As a teacher delved into life during the rule of the Order of the Knights of St John, the students, and also Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Resources and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino, listened attentively, observing the bastions from an unusual angle.

Works by the Restoration Unit are underway in Valletta, Mdina, Vittoriosa and the Cittadella, with money coming from the European Regional Development Fund.

Smaller areas are being restored using local funds.

The overall project goes a step further and includes the setting up of a public and interactive research centre about the islands' fortifications at Biagio Steps, in Valletta.

Dr Gonzi pinned the project to an increase in cruise liner passenger arrivals, which doubled from last year.

"Therefore, the fortifications do not only serve a historical and educational purpose but also an economic and touristic one," he said. Describing the works, Mr Pullicino, an architect by profession, said they were more complex than one thought.

"We are not just uprooting the caper plants from the bastions but are either replacing or treating stone where necessary," he explained.