After several years of stops and starts, the Dock 1 project in Cospicua is finally complete and was inaugurated last night.

Promised for more than two decades, it has been returned to the people, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Joe Mizzi said during the ceremony, adding it would become a top destination for families.

He recalled the problems that the project encountered along the way under the previous government, saying that at one point it was stalled when the contractor packed up and left.

The area, he said, was in shambles for several months and even cost the life of an elderly woman, who died when she tripped and hit her head.

The same day that he was appointed as minister, he visited the works and promised residents that the project would be completed by the summer, he told the audience.

His ministry had taken the project under its wing and given it the required impetus for that target to be reached.

Parliamentary Secretary for EU funds Ian Borg said €11 million in EU structural funds had been spent on the project.

Mayor Alison Zerafa said the project, which connects Cospicua, Vittoriosa, Senglea and Kalkara, would help Cospicua residents dodge the stigma that has bogged them down for years.

She urged residents to use the promenade for exercise.