The planning authority has accepted a development application for the expansion of the MCP car park in Floriana, which will also incorporate an extensive public open roof garden.

The development will create an additional 443 parking spaces by building up the unused inner core of the car park.

The new public garden will feature a kiosk, outdoor furniture and a play area, while the current structures protruding above street level will be demolished. Landscaping will conceal the entrance ramp from St Anne’s Street. An electric cab stand will also be included on the first underground level, with the aim of providing a link to the city centre.

Valletta mayor Alexei Dingli told the Times of Malta on Wednesday the project was urgently needed to alleviate the parking situation in the capital. Floriana mayor Davina Sammut welcomed the creation of a new public space which would complement the rest of the locality.

The construction period for the €5 million project is expected to last 10 months from the mobilisation stage, while finishing and landscaping will take a further two months.

The car park will remain fully operational during the main construction phases, with most work taking place between 4pm and 2am to minimise disruption.

Meanwhile, the Mepa board also gave its permission for the dismantling of the entire seating set-up of the former parliament chamber in the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta.

In its place, a temporary conference layout will be set up in time for Malta’s EU presidency in 2017.

Prior to the installation, restoration works will also be carried out within the chamber.

One of the conditions imposed by Mepa is that all the original objects and features from the chamber are to be carefully dismantled by hand, labelled and stored, while the Speaker’s chair (sedia) is to be conserved in its entirety.