The main problem, as I see it, with the current construction frenzy is that the major protagonists are irresponsible building contractors.

With every construction site we have come to expect emissions of dust, shabby hoarding, uncontrolled noise, old polluting heavy vehicles spewing out diesel fumes, building debris around the site, ramshackle signage, rusty scaffolding, often with protruding edges partly covered by an unsightly tattered piece of green cloth, muddy tyre marks on the street, and broken pavements – and all this accompanied by lots of shouting by the workmen.

If the government thinks, as it seems to do, that construction is Malta’s engine of economic growth, the least it should do is to ensure that works be carried out in an orderly manner.

Construction should cause the lowest possible degree of inconvenience to the residents in the area, and should not uglify the surroundings.