Salina salt pans to be restored

The historic salt pans at Salina are to be restored so that commercial production of salt can be resumed, the Environment Ministry announced today.

The restoration will form the third part of an extensive project which has so far centred on the afforestation of the Salina Park, with 11,000 trees having been planted over a 45,000 sq metre site.

The second phase is the restoration of Kennedy Grove and the JFK Memorial, the children’s play area and the marshland between Kennedy Grove and the salt pans. An application for a grant of €700,000 under the EU’s Life programme has been submitted for the restoration of the marshland.

The ministry said the old pans will be cleaned and restored so that they can resume production and become an attraction as is the case in Trapani and Guerande in the French region of Bretagne This €10m project will include the rehabilitation of the old wooden huts, with one of them being converted into a visitors’ centre.

The Water Services Corporation is, meanwhile, upgrading the pumping station a Ghajn Rihana to prevent the possibility of sewage flooding near the pans. EU funds will also be sought for this phase of the project.