The regeneration of parts of Fort St Elmo, which has been left to deteriorate, could be financed by the EU and works could start in about five months if the funding is secured.
The tender for emergency works, to the tune of €50,000, has just closed and these are expected to start imminently, propping up structures that are about to collapse in an attempt to save them before it is too late, avoiding more damage and danger.
Presenting a fluid timeline and plan of action on a project that has been screaming for attention, the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation said the call for European regional development funds was expected to be announced at the beginning of March and it was ready and waiting to submit the application it has been preparing for a while.
If the funding, under Priority Axis 2 – Enhancing Sustainable Tourism, amounting to about €20 million, is secured, the project can kick off immediately. It is estimated it can take about five months from the issue of the call to a decision, at which point the contracts would be ready to be issued immediately, according to application coordinator John Ebejer.
Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt said he was confident EU funding would come through, “based on previous experiences”.
Speaking on a tour of the dilapidated jewel in Valletta, Dr Gatt described the project as “a major challenge” that involved a long process.
The idea was not just to restore St Elmo but also to keep it “alive from morning to night”.
In January 2009, he had announced an action plan on the fort would be drawn up within months and unveiled a multimillion euro restoration project shortly after.
It was the opportune moment to tackle the fort in the context of the “big millions” the government was investing in the restoration of the rest of the city, Dr Gatt said yesterday.
St Elmo is divided into three areas, with the old fort and the Carafa Enceinte forming the cultural element of the project, which could be financed by the regional development funds and operated by Heritage Malta.
The lower area, which includes Pinto Stores, would take on a tourism, leisure and commercial dimension and, hopefully, be financed by private investment, corporation CEO Chris Paris said.
The fort itself is earmarked to be a complex of museums, including the War Museum, with 2,500 square metres of exhibition space, showcasing Malta’s military history and the story of Valletta while a heritage trail is planned to be created along the ramparts.
The restoration of the fort, which would be tackled first, was expected to last about two years, being a long process that would involve fitting out the museums, said Mr Ebejer.
A major and complex project, it was not just a matter of changing stones, the architect explained, adding that detailed restoration method reports had already been drawn up.
Four applications were submitted to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and those for works on the fort and enceinte are still pending because the development brief has not been finalised.
Once Mepa approves the draft brief, which is up for public consultation, a request for proposals will be issued for the private sector to transform the lower area, known for featuring in the Oscar-winning film Midnight Express, while respecting the history and architecture of the fort.“The idea is to highlight its historical relevance while adding life to the bottom end of Valletta. It has to be a tourist destination too, with long-term sustainability,” Mr Paris said.St Elmo was built by the Knights of the Order of St John in 1550 before Valletta even existed and played a major role in the Great Siege of 1565. Centuries later, the capital’s neglected silent sentinel ended up on a list of the world’s 100 most endangered heritage sites and the government had to repossess it from squatters in one of the first moves to start rehabilitating it.