Many are cheering the closure of the Marsa landmark but some will miss the plant that powered Malta for half a century. Sarah Carabott spoke to two who witnessed its birth, growth and eventual demise.

Going through documents and souvenirs on the provision of electricity, Lawrence Ciantar’s eyes shone as he pulled out a leaflet printed when the first lamp was lit up in Valletta around 1886.

“In my childhood years I remember a man going around the streets with a ladder propped over his shoulder, lighting up petroleum lamps scattered across villages.

“At home, we were proud of the small transformer we installed in front of a niche,” the former chief engineer at the then Water and Electricity Department said.

Mr Ciantar, 85, smiled as he recalled how, after World War II, there were still whole villages without power. The Pinto Wharf power house in Floriana, commissioned in 1886, worked on an old system that used to supply power to Valletta, Floriana, Msida, Cottonera and encroaching localities.

“At the time, the total generating capacity at Pinto Wharf was about 9MW; the present demand has reached 430MW.”

That was before the Marsa power station came on stream. Reminiscing about those days, he wistfully admitted he missed working there.

Part of the Marsa power station being dismantled last month.Part of the Marsa power station being dismantled last month.

The power station was commissioned in 1966.The power station was commissioned in 1966.

“When a problem cropped up, whether it was day or night, everyone at the Marsa power station rushed to your side to help and it was considered as one of the most exemplary organisations,” he said.

“I miss the tight-knit relationship between the workers and the management. The enthusiasm the employees put in their work was so gratifying.”

Fellow engineer Carmel Pulé, 74, who used to be consulted by Enemalta management or the courts when the power station shut down or had technical faults, also misses the camaraderie.

Black smoke bellowing from the chimneys back in August of 1982.Black smoke bellowing from the chimneys back in August of 1982.

“It was like being on a ship where you need to have a very strong relationship with your comrades so that when it’s sinking you help each other out.

“The workers there loved each other... and the machines, of course. They became part of the mechanism and had huge responsibilities towards their fellow citizens,” Mr Pulé said, calling the working atmosphere “phenomenal”.

Sadly, he added, the power station’s life would not be written by historians and it would be cremated unceremoniously away from the people it served so well and humiliated when it was sick and tired.

The two engineers have seen the increased supply of electricity change the Maltese landscape.

Mr Ciantar, who worked under six prime ministers – from Paul Boffa to Eddie Fenech Adami – was one of those tasked to assist an American team of engineers to build a power station below Jesuits’ Hill in Marsa under the Marshall Aid plan.

The workers there loved each other... and the machines

Later, he was involved in the changeover programme from the old to the new system that lasted four years – from 1954 to 1958.

“As social and domestic life improved and the industrial sector developed, demand started increasing at a fast pace and we needed more power.

“We increased the number of 5MW steam turbines from three to four and added a gas turbine. However, this was still not enough and we needed to build a new power station.”

Preparations for the new Marsa power station kicked off in 1963 and it was commissioned in 1966. By this time, Mr Ciantar was chief engineer of the then Water and Electricity Department, the precursor of Enemalta.

Initially, the power station had two 12.5MW steam turbines, which, when working with a water distiller, decreased supply to 10MW.

People’s expectations and demand kept increasing, so the Marsa power station had to grow. Two steam turbines of 30MW each were commissioned in the early 1970s. In the late 1970s, Prime Minister Dom Mintoff made arrangements with the Italian authorities to bring over the equipment that was used at the Palermo power station.

“I took a contingent of 80 workers, including dockyard and Enemalta personnel, to Palermo to dismantle and bring it to Malta, refurbish the parts and put them together here. In all, we brought three turbines of 30MW each. Enemalta later brought the final 60MW turbine from the UK.

“At that point, we needed to start preparing for a new power station for which we surveyed at least five sites and it was finally decided to build it in Delimara,” Mr Ciantar, who retired in 1992, recalled.

‘Don’t dismantle it’

“There is an ongoing debate on the Delimara power station but what are we going to turn to if we need to increase power,” Mr Ciantar wonders.

“As an engineer I believe we should not dismantle the Marsa power station. I would switch it off and close it but not dismantle it until we are guaranteed a firm and reliable supply so that if one day we find ourselves with our back against the wall, or if there is some major technical fault, we would have somewhere to turn to,” he added.

Mr Pulé thinks the Marsa power station should be turned into a technical museum.

“Independent Malta seems to be more inclined towards the arts. The power station should be preserved as a recent part of history to serve as a reminder of the need of high responsibility work. The power station worked 24 hours, seven days a week, powering up hospitals and schools.

“A job at the power station is a job that you lose sleep over. As a technical museum, it would educate students about work that needs to be guaranteed, be reliable and delivered on time.”

Then and now...Above: Part of the Marsa power station beingdismantled last month. Left: The power station was commissioned in 1966. Right: Black smoke bellowing from the chimneys back in August of 1982.

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