Just over a year before the last election, the then minister responsible for infrastructure, Ninu Zammit, had announced that calls for tenders for flood relief projects were being issued. Five years later, with another election imminent, the minister responsible for the project has just said that the promised – and long-awaited, one is justified in adding – works on the national flood relief system are due to begin “over the coming weeks”.
The coincidence of the timing with the imminent holding of elections cannot be overlooked. On the other hand, if this is what it takes to exercise the political will to get such projects started, it would be invidious to complain. Certainly, the 200,000 or so people in the flood-prone zones of Balzan, Birkirkara, Msida, Qormi, Marsa and elsewhere will be hugely relieved to see this major project finally get off the ground or, rather, get underground.
For this ambitious project, at a cost of about €56 million, envisages the digging of a series of underground tunnels channelling into the sea storm water away from flood-prone areas. The largest component of the project will consist of an 11-kilometre long tunnel being dug beneath Balzan, Birkirkara and Msida, carrying storm water to Ta’ Xbiex, where a structure like a gigantic sink overflow will allow water to spill into the sea.
A smaller tunnel, carrying water from the San Ġwann area through Gżira, will join the larger tunnel before Ta’ Xbiex.
Another two tunnels – one in the south, taking water from Żabbar and Marsascala, and another crossing much of Żebbuġ – will also be built. The latter will be the first of this massive undertaking to get under way, draining floodwater into Wied Qirda.
The project also involves the “reconstruction” of several bridges and the building of a network of wide water culverts in Qormi and Marsa. The work must be completed by 2015 if it is to benefit from EU funding. Three years is a very short time for a project of this magnitude. While the pressing need for it cannot be doubted, the potential disruption to traffic and road systems throughout the areas affected cannot be underplayed either.
Taken together with the modernisation of the road transport network in hand, the potential for traffic chaos during this period is obvious. It is to be hoped that coordination between the ministries responsible for transport and resources will be better than in the past.
However, the overall gain to the country cannot be underestimated. Quite apart from the employment benefits of a project of this magnitude and the knock-on effects on the economy, there can be no doubt at all about the huge relief from flooding, traffic disruption and inconvenience that it will give not only to people who reside in these areas but also to the thousands of daily commuters who drive through them.
There remain one or two grey areas.
Hydrologists have questioned whether it would be sensible to talk of channelling storm water into already existing reservoirs and dams and pump it for treatment and reuse.
On the other hand, there must be questions also about the very small amounts of such storm water that would be conserved instead of simply discharged into the sea as the plan envisages.
Given the extreme threats to Malta’s over-extracted water aquifers, these are issues that must surely continue to be examined if the optimum benefits from this huge investment are to be obtained.