The smoothened limestone columns of the old Opera House stand in sharp contrast to the dark steel pillars which will frame Malta’s new Parliament building.

Standing on the rooftop of Bank of Valletta’s offices, the view is striking. The Grand Harbour can be seen on the left, Sliema’s Tigne Point to the right and the imposing Floriana church in the distance, straight ahead.

Without City Gate, the whole thing area exudes a sense of openness and continuity.

And bang in the centre, workmen with yellow hats work tirelessly on Renzo Piano’s project, where the public is kept guessing what lies behind the surrounding red panels.

“The project is definitely on target and within budget,” says Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt, who yesterday gave an update to the media from the BOV premises. The deadline is 2013, which should coincide with the next general election.

The “sub-structure” of the Parliament is finished and the work has now moved to the first floor of the building.

Meanwhile, the Valletta police station which used to stand adjacent to BOV has been completely demolished and its former foundations are being carefully excavated to house part of the underground backstage premises to the open-air theatre which will be built within the Opera House ruins.

A statue of Grandmaster De Valette will be the main focus of the piazza which will be built above the backstage area.

“Very satisfied” with the pace of the work, Dr Gatt says this is a prime example of how a major project can be built without creating too much inconvenience for the public.

So far, around 20 per cent of the €80 million budget has already been spent but Dr Gatt could not quantify, in percentage terms, how much of the project has been concluded, since it has so many different facets.

So how exactly is the project being financed?

“You’re going to have to ask [Finance Minister] Tonio Fenech... I’m really not involved in that aspect,” Dr Gatt replies.

But Mr Fenech’s spokesman did not elaborate much further, saying only that the project financing will be administered by the National Investment Fund.

“This fund will be built up from commercial rents and income from other concessions. Further details will be announced in Parliament in due course,” the spokesman told The Times.

In his Budget 2010 speech, Mr Fenech had said the new Parliament would not be a burden on the taxpayers because it will be financed through this fund.

The project would be regarded as an investment which would be leased to the government and the fund would be managed on purely commercial lines by a team of professional people.

The fund would manage and direct government’s commercial property to maximise the state’s revenue, hold investments in local and foreign stocks and shares with no controlling interest, and invest in national projects like those linked to the regeneration of Valletta.

Fate of Tritons Fountain still in the balance

One aspect of the City Gate project which has literally not yet budged is the Tritons Fountain, which still stands in the centre of the old bus terminus, despite contentious plans for it to move closer to the Phoenicia hotel.

According to Dr Gatt, the plans have not changed but a study on how best to restore the bronze fountain is still pending and a preliminary report shows the restoration will take much longer than expected. The process will involve having to send out parts of the fountain to Italy for more than a year.

The “socialists” damaged the fountain practically irreversibly, Dr Gatt said, referring to an episode during the late 1970s when the fountain was used as a stage during Labour Party festivities.

The plumbing system has to be totally replaced, he added.

Asked whether the restoration will postpone the fountain’s move, Dr Gatt simply said: “We are looking at the two issues separately.”

But answered questions by The Times later, his spokesman explained that plans to resurface the former bus terminus have been separated from plans to move the fountain. Resurfacing will go ahead as planned but the fountain’s relocation will be put on hold “until the restoration process is well underway”.

“Whether the fountain will eventually be moved will depend as well on the extent of the restoration process to the plumbing system – which seems to be in a dire state – as well as the extent of the restoration to the base of the fountain,” the spokesman said.