Malta's largest family park was inaugurated this morning at Marsascala.

The park is located on a huge expanse of land near the Inspire facility and Sant' Antnin Waste Recycling pant.

It was inaugurated by the Prime Minister and Resources Minister George Pullicino.

Dr Gonzi said that in the past, good land was turned into landfills. In contrast, through this government, a dump had been turned into a park.

He added that with careful management, waste could be transformed into beneficial uses. He pointed out that the adjacent Inspire Foundation’s swimming pool was being heated for free from heat generated by the WasteServ plant, saving over €30,000 a year.

“Let our children grow up loving our country as much, or even more, than we adults already do.”

The park covers an area of 85,000 square metres and includes Picnic areas, children play areas, Outdoor gym equipment, a Rock-climbing and Abseiling area, two mazes – one tailored for children, a dog park and an amphitheatre.

It will also feature a Water Park, which will open later this year.

A watercourse was created in the Northern part of the Park to address the flooding problems faced by Inspire each year. The capacity of the watercourse is of over 4,200 cubic metres per hour at any one time.

16,000 cubic meters of recycled inert material were used for the capping of the former dumpsite. 3,500 cubic meters of rubble were used for the formation of rubble walls.

5,500 cubic meters of boulders from excavation works at Għallis landfill were used for the rip-rap (foundation) of the watercourse.

Footpath lighting blocks were constructed using a mixture of concrete and recycled glass, for which 50 tonnes of recycled glass were used.

The chapel of Sant’Antnin and a world war two pillboc were restored as part of the project.

The project includes two reservoirs with a total capacity of 1,692 cubic metres, to be utilised for irrigation purposes.

The opening hours of the park are 6.30 a.m. to 11.30 p.m. daily.