The Malta at War Museum in Vittoriosa is being refurbished and extended by another 800 square metres thanks to EU funding, a total of €2.3 million that also covers the military park project in Valletta,.

By December, when the project is complete, the museum would be exhibiting 5,000 artefacts – from weapons to medals, badges, uniforms and documents, the heritage trust Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna – has stored away.

Thanks to the additional space, visitors can travel in chronological order through Malta’s wartime experience, including the country’s efforts in the war and the effects on society.

From two poky rooms over the air raid shelters at Couvre Port, the museum will be extended to incorporate a complex of 10, recently also housing the Vittoriosa local council offices and a restaurant.

The plan was not only to exhibit the artefacts in their proper context but also to conserve them, said FWA executive chairman Mario Farrugia.

A total of €500,000 are being injected into the Malta at War Museum and the rest – €1.8 million – are being invested in the first military historical park in Valletta, which has a footprint of 9,000 square metres, including the Upper Barrakka, Lascaris War Rooms, St Peter and St Paul counterguard and the unfinished tunnels.

Visitors could journey through history from the 16th century to the Cold War, Mr Farrugia said. The funding was “crucial”, he said, for a leap of quality that would see the museum move from an amateur to a professional level.

FWA was able to access the €2.3 million from the European Regional Development Fund thanks to the government’s Co-Financing Fund for NGOs, aimed at assisting them in overcoming the hurdle of applying for EU funding because they would have to fork out between 15 and 25 per cent of the project.

Local Councils Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said explained that the fund was set up so that such NGOs would not face problems and give up on their initiatives because they could not afford to finance their end of the project.

Over the last two years, 27 applications were submitted by NGOs to the Co-Financing Fund and 20 have benefitted from €523,000, their projects amounting to a total of €13.2 million of ERDF funding, Dr Said noted.

The heritage trust received €250,000 from the Co-Financing Fund for what it refers to as its ReViVe project