The basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Valletta will finally get paving to cover up its shabby concrete flooring.

Fr Alex Scerri told the Times of Malta the paving of the basilica floor in an intricate design would cost some €500,000.

Work is expected to begin at the end of September and will go on until around March of next year.

The church is accepting donations from the public and its congregation to help finance the project.

Fr Scerri said the congregation would be moving to an unused chapel in West Street until the project was completed.

The original church was built in 1570 and for 13 years served as one of the parish churches of Valletta until the parish church dedicated to St Paul was built. The image of the Virgin Mary depicted on the altarpiece was crowned in 1881 and attracts crowds of tourists and visitors every year.

The church was declared a basilica in 1895. Much of it was rebuilt because of war damage, with the works being completed in the 1970s. Its dome now dominates Valletta's skyline.