A €9.2 million extension with four new wards was inaugurated at St Vincent de Paul Home for the Elderly this morning in a ceremony attended by hundreds of guests.

The inauguration was made by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Parliamentary Secretary Mario Galea.

Mr Galea said the new three-storey block, named after Pope John Paul II, had been completed in a year and featured the first purpose-built ward for dementia patients.

In all, the block has 144 beds in comfortable surroundings which include air conditioning, en-suite rooms and energy-saving equipment which is expected to bring about a saving of €64,000 in electricity costs every year.

Mr Galea drew contrasts between the new block and an old, dark ward which it will replace. In the past, he said, elderly people used to be scared of going to St Vincent de Paule - then known as l-Ingieret. Now they were queuing to go there.

The government, he said, was committed to making the life of elderly people as comfortable as possible, both in the community and in institutions such as this. The elderly had given their service to the country. They were also the messengers and the guardians of the values which distinguished the Maltese as a people.

Dr Gonzi in his address underlined the important role of elderly people in society. He thanked all those involved in the building of this extension and said that a night shelter for the elderly would be opened at Zejtun in a couple of weeks.

The ceremony was attended by residents of the home, their relatives and representatives of NGOs, among others.