A €2 million public garden at Qui-Si-Sana was opened yesterday, pushing up the number of open spaces around the island made available in the last three years to an equivalent of six football pitches.

The garden, named after former Nationalist Finance Minister George Bonello Dupuis, has been built in the form of a cradle to nest the area away from the trecherous winds that often batter the Sliema shoreline during the winter months.

It features play equipment for children of different ages, an outside gym and three fountains. A World War II gunpost was restored. There are five kilometres of piping and three reservoirs to gather rainwater which will be used to water the garden.

Speaking at the inauguration, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi paid tribute to Dr Bonello Depuis, saying he was a people’s politician.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.