As the hot summer months approach, the government will be investing €300,000 to build the long-awaited shelters for horse-drawn cabs, karrozzini in Valletta, Sliema and St Julians.

Works on the first shelters in Valletta would start in the coming weeks, a Rural Affairs Ministry spokesman said. Also, water points would be installed in Qawra, Mdina and St Paul’s Bay, the spokesman added.

The shelters will be made of wood and metal and vary in size depending on the location. It was not yet known how many shelters would be built but works should soon start, the spokesman said.

A call for tenders has just been published and the project is being carried out by the ministry in collaboration with Transport Malta.

The news was welcomed by the Animal Rights Group and the Animal Rights Coalition, which had been long campaigning for the shelters.

“This work will not commence soon due to the necessary procedure to be followed, which is why all this should have commenced years ago. Summer is here and, though the designs seem impressive, what is needed is immediate protection for these horses,” the group said.

A month ago, copies of a petition signed by close to 8,000 people and calling for airy shelters, water points and drains to protect karrozzini horses from the summer temperatures were presented to MPs outside Parliament.

In February, Transport Malta issued draft regulations for horse-drawn cabs obliging operators to maintain and clean any shelters installed to provide shade for the horses. Soon afterwards, it held a meeting with horse-drawn cab operators but the two failed to reach an agreement on the financing of shelters. While the two sides agreed cab operators should maintain the shelters, they differed on how much money each cab operator should fork out.