The building of a new structure hiding the bastions at the AFM maritime base in Marsamxett shows that environment lessons are not being learnt, Din l-Art Helwa said today.

The first mistake, it recalled, was the building of the nearby Excelsior Hotel 50 years ago.

"When the Excelsior hotel was built just after Din l-Art Helwa's foundation in 1965, and then rebuilt in even more brutal proportions in recent years, Din l-Art Helwa had advised government of the unsuitable choice of location for such a development. The new AFM security facilities compromise the  line of fortifications yet again", the NGO said.

"We just have not learnt from our mistakes", said Maria Grazia Cassar, who takes the helm of the heritage NGO shortly.

"We understand the necessity of having rapid deployment facilities for our armed forces, but we cannot believe that these could not have been located elsewhere. Instead of regaining the views of the bastions, we continue to obstruct them. This is yet another example of insufficient sensitivity to the impact on our unique iconic vistas on the part of our planners who gave the green light to the choice of location".