The local production company that was fined €36,500 by the planning authority after last year’s Dwejra sand saga was not blamed by the international production company Fire and Blood Productions.

Contrary to what was reported on Monday, both the foreign company and the local agent blamed another company, which was subcontracted to handle the clean-up and the local production company, Pellikola, could still take legal action against it.

In fact, it was Pellikola which, last November, released a statement to the press about the matter on behalf of Fire and Blood Productions. “The subcontractor referred to in the press release was hired by Fire and Blood Productions through Pellikola for the laying and removing of sand at Dwejra,” a spokesman for Pellikola said.

The press release had said the subcontractor used “incorrect methods” and all necessary steps and precautions were immediately put in place to ensure the clean-up process continued, according to the requirements set out by the planning authority, so there would be no lasting or irreversible impact on the area.

It added that the production company had enlisted a local supervised team to undertake the manual clean-up of the area, in accordance with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s regulations. These requirements involved the removal of sand manually, without the use of mechanical equipment.

Pellikola said it agreed with Fire and Blood Productions and stopped the subcontractor from continuing works, engaging over 20 workers instead to clear the sand manually.

“The process lasted six weeks and cost the production of Game of Thrones over €50,000,” according to Pellikola, which pointed out that this amount excluded the €36,500 paid earlier last week.

“Thus, the cleaning operation at Dwejra and the penalties imposed by Mepa cost Fire and Blood Productions and Pellikola a total of €86,500. Pellikola is still reserving its right to take legal action against the subcontractor for breaching conditions and instructions about the laying and removal of sand at Dwejra.”

A spokesman for Pellikola expressed the company’s satisfaction that the matter had now been brought to an end and no further action would be taken by Mepa against it.

“The filming of Game of Thrones in Malta lasted over six weeks and over a dozen heritage and environmentally sensitive sites where used including the Presidential palaces at Verdala and San Anton, Fort Ricasoli, Fort St Angelo, Fort Manoel and several prominent houses, streets, squares and areas in Mdina, Valletta, Żebbuġ, Mtaħleb and Manikata.

“At many of these locations substantial alterations were made including the laying of sand and/or other ground cover to create environs central to the story. At all locations, all changes were re-instated to original state by Pellikola or its subcontractors without damage.”

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.