If, instead of coming up with a project that will continue to ruin the little countryside we have left, the government were to look around and observe how other countries have reclaimed land from the sea, the new Għadira road would not be needed at all.

For example, about six months ago I was watching a documentary on National Geographic illustrating how engineers had built the World Islands and the Palm Islands in Dubai, and how they managed to protect these engineering feats from the forces of the sea.

The two "islands" were reclaimed, built entirely of sand dredged up from the bottom of the Arabian Gulf. The sand was compacted to reduce the risk of loss to erosion by the sea. As the documentary explains in great detail, this was not enough because, if not properly protected, major storms in the region would totally wipe out these islands. Therefore a breakwater had to be built. Under the contract signed between the government of Dubai and the construction consortium, it had to be built using the same sand that went into the islands. It also needed to be streamlined with the water surface and not exceed a certain height so that while serving as protection, it would not be an eyesore.

After conducting laboratory studies and experiments to find the exact shape and size required, the engineers came up with a state-of-the-art breakwater design to ensure that the two mega-projects would not be wiped out by a major storm or be eroded by the sea over the years.

This is the sort of thinking that Għadira needs. It would be useless to expand the bay inland as this would do nothing to protect the beach from the forces of the open sea.

Whatever it decides, I hope that the government takes more professional advice.