An Italian company has been awarded a €264,000 contract to draw up a masterplan for Gozo’s Cittadella (Citadel).

Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono said the company Politecnica Ingegneria e Architettura has already engaged a number of foreign and local experts in different disciplines. It is holding meetings with interested stakeholders and organisations ahead of a broader cosultation period. The masterplan will be concluded by August 2010.

She said the first phase of the drawing up of the masterplan will see the collection and evaluation of data regarding different aspects of the Cittadella.

Conservation of the site and its cultural and ecological assets are among the topics being studied. These include issues of a geo-technical nature related to the stability of the monument, the condition and restoration of the Cittadella’s fortifications and its internal built-up fabric, archaeology, identification, recording and protection of flora and fauna. The masterplan is also addressing issues related to tourism and amenities for visitors, land use, social and economic issues, traffic management, services and infrastructure and proposals for an adequate management structure.

The project is being co-financed by the European Economic Area, with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein as the donor countries.

Also currently under way is a €7m multi-year for the consolidation of the bedrock and restoration of the bastion walls. This project is being co-financed by the European Union and co-ordinated by the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs and the Ministry for Gozo.

A tender for a photogrammetic survey is being evaluated and another tender for the services of a geo-technical consultant is being prepared. A tender will then be issued for the restoration and consolidation of the bastion walls.