The historic Maċina and surrounding bastions, which once served as the Labour Party headquarters, will be transformed into an exhibition space and conference rooms after the planning authority approved the project yesterday.

The permit, which is the last one related to the Cottonera Waterfront Revival Area, includes works for the adaptive re-use of the bastion building to accommodate a mixture of exhibition space and catering establishments.

Work will not only include the restoration of the entire building, including removing a late extension, but also the rebuilding of an area which was severely damaged during World War II.

Works on the annex adjacent to the Maċina will include the demolition of the second floor and the portico on the ground floor.

There will be a restaurant on the roof. A boundary wall which leads onto Mittrovich Square will be replaced by a wrought iron gate to allow pedestrians in from the square.

Two public lifts will be installed to facilitate access between 31st March Street, along the Senglea seafront, and the roof of the Maċina.

The Maċina was originally built by the Knights to house a machine that lifted masts from galleys. From the early to mid-17th century, it was made of strong hardwood but in 1864 the British changed it to a modernised steel structure. In 1927 the machine was dismantled by the Admiralty in favour of a floating lift crane.

It was later used as storage space, the Admiralty’s Head Office, and as a trade school. From the 1970s to 1994 it was used as the Labour Party headquarters.

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