Updated 5.30pm - Added video

Birżebbuġa residents will be relieved to know that the petroleum tank farm in their midst has started being dismantled.

The top part of the oldest tank, dating back to 1919, came crashing down as Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and minister Konrad Mizzi gave a press conference outside the facility to mark the occasion.

The dismantling process could start after the Planning Authority today approved the change of use for the underground storage facility at Has Saptan to start storing domestic fuels.

Dr Muscat said people were put before money when it was decided that State company Enemed would give up its oil bunkering operations at Has Saptan and use the site to store domestic fuels.

The Birżebbuġa facility, spread over 38,000 square metres, is used to store petrol and diesel for the domestic market. Over a span of decades, buildings sprouted up around the site, which was a major inconvenience for residents.

“The fact that the oldest tank remembers the Sette Giugno is shocking in itself… What we have achieved here today shows our commitment to modernise this country's infrastructure,” Dr Muscat said.

Enemed’s sprawling site at Wied Dalam will eventually close down as well

Dr Mizzi said the underground tanks at Has Saptan would be reconfigured to be able to store domestic fuels without the need to build new tanks on the surface as had been originally envisaged.

As a result, the Birżebbuġa facility could start being dismantled. No decision has yet been taken on how the site will be used but the Prime Minister said it would cater for community needs.

Meanwhile, Dr Mizzi also announced that Enemed’s sprawling site at the mouth of Wied Dalam in Birżebbuġa, where aviation fuel is stored, will eventually close down as well. He said the 88,000 square metre site would be restored and returned to the community.