The transformation of a hardstone quarry in Qala into a mega project including a cruise liner terminal and a yacht marina defies Mepa’s Structure Plan and the authority’s policy on minerals, The Sunday Times of Malta has learned.
According to the Minerals Subject Plan adopted by Mepa a few years ago, the quarry known as Għar Dorf on the Qala coastline contains exceptionally good quality limestone which makes the site a ‘Minerals Safeguarding Area’ that needs to be protected from development not compatible with quarrying.
Contacted by this newspaper, geologist Peter Gatt confirmed that the area contains good quality limestone for the production of aggregate and limestone slabs. Dr Gatt also stressed that 70 per cent or more of concrete and roads in Malta consist of limestone aggregate.
The proposed project will prevent an important source of good quality local aggregate from being used which will ultimately undermine the quality of local concrete and roads.
Such a development, if given the green light, will also automatically mean the closure of an adjacent quarry, currently owned by Road Construction Ltd, which has the same geology and still has a lifespan of almost 25 years.
A spokesman for Road Construction Ltd has already distanced himself from the project.
Malta has limited limestone resources which we must use economically while protecting them for future generations
Though the proposed development is still at the adjudication stage, an Italian-based architectural firm last month mistakenly published the project’s plans and said construction would start next year.
However, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat downplayed the news stating that no decisions had yet been taken by the government.
Apart from the cruise liner terminal and a yacht marina, the Kalamarine Development Consortium is proposing the development of hotels and a number of apartments and villas with pools. The consortium will have to excavate part of the coastline to carry out this project.
The proposal by Kalamarine is the only one submitted following a call for an expression of interest for the development of a cruise liner terminal facility in Gozo.
The Gozo Ministry has so far refused to give details on the investors behind the project.
Dr Gatt, who had personally assessed the Għar Dorf quarry and is a former member of Mepa’s Minerals Board, said the quarry contained exceptional hardstone that could still be excavated for many years.
“The two hardstone quarries in Gozo earmarked in the plans unveiled by Times of Malta are the only remaining ones on the island that contain very good quality lower coralline limestone,” Dr Gatt explained.
“From the information we have so far, it seems that the project will destroy once and for all the important mineral resources in the area. Malta has limited limestone resources which we must use economically while protecting them for future generations. This is the underlying principle of sustainable development. Much larger countries like the United States have understood this predicament, but it seems we have not”.
According to tests carried out by Dr Gatt, the two quarries contain very strong hardstone with a compressive strength of between 30 and 70 MPA (megapascals).
“This is quite exceptional for the Maltese Islands,” Dr Gatt said.
The material can only be extracted through controlled rock blasting which would make this impossible if a development in the area takes place.