The contract of world-renowned architect Renzo Piano will be stopped once Valletta’s new parliament building is complete, Infrastructure Minister Joe Mizzi said on the current affairs programme Times Talk yesterday.

The minister was asked about the status of the project, which, along with the new parliament building, the entrance to Valletta and the Pjazza Teatru Rjal, included the conversion of Valletta’s ditch into a public garden, accessible by lift from the City Gate area.

Mr Mizzi said the garden, originally estimated to cost €1.9 million, was still on the cards but added that the government would be looking into whether to have the whole ditch dedicated to a garden, as intended by Mr Piano, or whether another use would be added.

“One will have to see whether we will have a garden all the way or whether there will be other uses. We still have to see about this in the interest of the people, the area and Valletta,” he said.

I found lack of control, lack of coordination and overruns… but we controlled things

The project has been curtailed on the basis of cost considerations. The minister complained of overruns of more than €10 million on the project, estimated to cost some €100 million.

“I found lack of control, lack of coordination and overruns… but we controlled things and removed certain elements to contain the costs,” Mr Mizzi said.

Mr Piano, he added, was prepared to offer his advice on future plans for the gardens and the Triton Fountain area “free of charge”.

Last week, workers from Mr Mizzi’s ministry were busy laying a centre strip in the ditch, suggesting that the notion of a garden had been discarded completely. However, he insisted the arrangement was only temporary.

He also said plans to revamp the area outside City Gate had not been abandoned either.

In 2011, Mr Piano was invited by the previous administration to redesign the site near the Triton Fountain.

The fountain was to be encased in a huge new pedestrian piazza outside City Gate, which would be accessed through a flight of wide steps.

Eventually, the plans fell by the wayside but even though the new Labour administration showed some enthusiasm at first, this too eventually faded.

Mr Mizzi said the idea had not been discarded but insisted this would be a longer term project that would need to take into account the changes taking place to accommodate the new bus transport service.

He pointed to the fact that the new Spanish operator planned to expand the bus terminus into the St James Ditch, a move that would clear the site at the entrance of Valletta from buses.