The planned Dom Mintoff statue at Castille Square is expected to be replaced by a massive abstract art structure that has been commissioned directly on the instructions of the Office of the Prime Minister, the Times of Malta can reveal.

The monument is said to be about five metres high and resembles a glowing flame.

This follows revelations by The Sunday Times of Malta that the original plan to erect a statue of the late premier at Valletta’s revamped square was scrapped by the OPM for undisclosed reasons.

The design of the abstract artwork has been awarded to architect Valerio Schembri, who is also a ceramist.  

Although the model is ready, the OPM encountered difficulties in casting the structure and has had to postpone its plans to have it in place for November’s Commonwealth summit.

“It is so huge that the cost of casting the memorial in bronze is prohibitive, so much so that the government would have to fork out over €500,000. This was obviously not planned,” the sources said.

Government officials are now trying to find an alternative. However, no decision has been taken yet.

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