The last piece of the jigsaw in the City Gate project will finally fall into place in the coming days with the inauguration of the ditch garden, which has been in the offing for more than a decade. 

 However, the parking area at the far end of Lascaris Ditch will be out of bounds to the public, even when it is not being used by civil servants who have first preference for the parking bays. 

Spearheaded by the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation, the €5 million project has been dogged by delays and was supposed to have been ready a year ago, in time for Valletta 2018 Capital of Culture activities. 

Prior to that, however, plans for the ditch had been temporarily shelved soon after the Labour Party was elected to government in 2013. 

The decision was taken on the grounds that the entire project incorporating the new entrance and parliament building, designed by world-renowned architect Renzo Piano, had gone over budget. 

In July 2016, the GHRC revived the idea of transforming City Gate ditch into a public garden, this time as part of a separate project comprising the Tritons Fountain restoration and embellishment of the surrounding area. Back then, the completion deadline was set for the start of last year. 

Project supposed to have been ready a year ago, in time for V18 activities

While the Tritons Fountain project was finished in time, work on the ditch garden fell behind with the deadline postponed, first to July 2018, until it was completed a few days ago. 

Named after 16th century Italian architect Francesco Laparelli, who was commissioned by Pope Pius V to construct Valletta, the garden complements the surroundings through extensive use of Maltese hardstone.

Accessible through a staircase and a lift next to the parliament building, the garden also incorporates the old railway bridge which used to connect the defunct Valletta station to a tunnel near Portes des Bombes. 

While no official opening date has been announced, it is set to be inaugurated in the coming days. 

This was confirmed by GHRC chairman and Labour MP Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, in reply to questions sent by the Times of Malta.

The re-opening of the ditch means that a car park at the very far end at Lascaris Ditch, which can accommodate over 100 vehicles, will be accessible once again through a narrow road on the side. 

The Lascaris Ditch parking which will be out of bounds for the public even when not in use by civil service employees who have first preference. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

Asked about the parking arrangements, Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi noted that this facility would be available for public service employees holding a specific permit. 

“Security personnel will be taking care of both the security in the same area and the flow of vehicles alongside the garden,” he said. 

However, this parking space will not be made available to the public when not in use by civil servants, despite acute parking problems in the capital.  

This was confirmed by Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi, who made it clear that the area and vehicular access to it would be closed during weekends and holidays.