Works being carried out at Binja Buqana in Mtarfa have now reached a new phase following the completion of work at the lower garage levels, Parliamentary Secretary for Social Accommodation Roderick Galdes said on Friday..

Mr Galdes was speaking during a visit to inspect the ongoing works.

A private company commissioned by the government in 2016 had found parts of the structure were weak, reinforcing a separate inquiry which had concluded the same.

Parts of the concrete ceiling had come apart and emergency repair works were carried out last year after it transpired that 99 beams were defective and must be replaced.

The building had been developed by the Housing Authority between 1994 and 1996.

Built as part of an extensive social housing project in the locality, the Binja Buqana complex, which houses 80 families, was dogged by structural problems from the very start.

By the late 1990s, residents were already complaining of water seepage, which caused extensive damage to the concrete structure, especially at the basement level where cracks developed.

Despite repeated complaints from the aggrieved owners, who had invested their earnings to buy property from the government, the Housing Authority dismissed them all. Its denial was based on an analysis carried out by different architects on its behalf who had certified the building as perfectly safe. Despite this assurance, the structural defects got worse.

Mr Galdes said more columns will be strengthened during the next phase while structures considered as dangerous, including stairs, walls and balconies, will be demolished and rebuilt.