A tunnel linked to the interconnector project which first started being dug in Swieqi nearly three years ago is still incomplete, to the fury of residents.
“The noise is just too much; I don’t understand how we are expected to put up with this,” Swieqi resident Alex Cauchi told the Times of Malta.
Mr Cauchi’s home overlooks Wied Mejxu, one of the last green spaces in the densely populated Swieqi area. Once a quiet escape from the busy clattering of noisy Paceville and St Julian’s, the valley has been overwhelmed by constant digging for more than two years – with no end in sight.
“We have no idea when these works will end. In the meantime all we get is dust, noise and inconvenience,” he said.
The works, being conducted on behalf of Enemalta, are linked to the interconnector project which supplies electricity from Sicily. The subterranean tunnels for the project are required to have emergency exits every few hundred metres, one of which emerges in the middle of Wied Mejxu. Back in May this newspaper had reported residents’ frustration at the works which were “ruining the lives of those who live in the area”.
Mr Cauchi yesterday said the works had already missed a number of deadlines and it was not clear when they would be finished. They were originally meant to be finalised back in December 2015 and the deadline was pushed back a second time to March of this year.
“Now we’ve been told the chaos will soon be over – whatever ‘soon’ means. But in the meantime we just have to put up with this,” another resident who asked not to be named said.
Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat said the works were delayed after the contractors encountered particularly dense rock. The contractors, he said, had to change equipment as the tough rock defeated a number of drills.
Resident Mary-Anne Mercieca, who lives on the opposite end of Mejxu valley, said that although she did not hear the generators, thanks to double glazing, her maisonette was coated in “a constant layer of fine dust”.
“No matter how much I clean up, within a few days my home is covered in very fine white dust. It gets everywhere,” she said.