The paving works that are nearing completion at Castille Square in Valletta are being done in the correct way that paving by porfido slabs should be done.

The use of porfido as paving material was started by the Valletta Rehabilitation Project in the mid-1990s when we did, first, Pjazza Republika and St John Square, and then started the massive pedestrianisation project of Republic, Merchants and nearby streets.

Many towns and villages have since then started to use porfido slabs as it is a very tough paving material that allows even vehicular traffic to pass through without any problem. I remember that for Republic Street we had experimented with the heaviest fire-fighting engine to check the effect of weight on the paving.

Unfortunately, however, many of the paving projects that one sees, and I am referring to those done in Gozo in particular but also in Malta, are carried out in a very wrong manner as the porfido paving is not dry laid but concreted in.

When the porfido slabs are dry laidthey fit much better both in terms of levelling and also of strength. Concreting in porfido slabs just does not allow them to ‘settle in’ properly. Once more, may I congratulate the government architects at Works Division for the Castille Placeproject, and hope that their standard of work is copied elsewhere.