Fredrick Azzopardi was charged in court last Tuesday, accused of breaking environment protection laws during his time as Infrastructure Malta CEO. It was the fall from grace of a former government official who often hogged the headlines for running roughshod over residents’ and NGOs’ concerns.

The CEO, a key driving force behind minister Ian Borg, was instrumental in setting up the agency in 2018.

Azzopardi has now moved on to the private sector. His legacy at Infrastructure Malta includes flagship projects like the Marsa junction and countless kilometres of new roads, but also shadeless stretches where mature trees once grew, and shadows of what was once agricultural land.

Times of Malta looks back at some of the controversy that accompanied Azzopardi’s bumpy road.

The Central Link Project

Azzopardi’s name is indelibly connected with the Central Link Project, which he had described as “the most beneficial infrastructural solution from different environmental, social and economic perspectives”.

Azzopardi’s Infrastructure Malta launched a costly PR campaign to promote the project, including claims that doing nothing would lead to “total gridlock” in the area within 20 years.

As many as 549 trees were to be uprooted and another 237 transplanted, prompting outraged citizens to tie themselves to trees in protest.

A total of 47,000 square metres of agricultural land – the equivalent of six football pitches – was bulldozed before an appeals court decided on the project permit.

Dingli roadworks

Roadworks in Dingli, another project carried out under Azzopardi’s watch, were also the centre of controversy.

Activists camped on site for three weeks in a bid to prevent heavy machinery put there by Infrastructure Malta from advancing to clear fields outside the development zone.

Again, trees were the victim: this time it was carob trees that were hundreds of years old.

Works went ahead before the Environmental and Resources Authority (ERA) had consented to the uprooting.

Works started five months before the necessary permits were issued and had not followed procedure, environmental commissioner Alan Saliba concluded.

Saliba condemned Infrastructure Malta for allowing its contractor to access private land before reaching an agreement with landowners about expropriation.

Obeying the rules “should be the order of the day, particularly from government entities that should serve as an example to citizens,” Saliba noted.

Land expropriation

The way in which Infrastructure Malta expropriated land in Dingli proved to be a hallmark of Azzopardi’s time in charge of the agency.

Unlike the private sale of property, when land is appropriated in Malta the compensation should be decided by the Lands Authority.

Infrastructure Malta often flouted procedure, bypassing the authority by reaching agreements directly with owners or showing up with bulldozers before any deal was reached.

Landowners in Dingli, Attard, Rabat, Żabbar and Luqa all reported similar behaviour from the Azzopardi-led agency.

“This land had been in my family since 1913, they just showed up at 4am and started digging it up,” landowner Andrew Costa told Times of Malta.

When landowners in Rabat and Attard got their lawyers involved, a court noted that “the owners’ property rights cannot be ignored” and that appropriation “should not be done to the detriment of existent procedures that protect individual’s rights”.

Roadworks at Ħal Farruġ traffic junction

Works at a junction in Ħal Farruġ, Luqa saw Infrastructure Malta take up more land than permitted and start works without a valid permit.

The works were part of the €9.5 million project spread over 1.7 kilometres to widen the arterial road linking Qormi to Malta International Airport.

Infrastructure Malta was fined €20,000 by the Planning Authority.

Azzopardi described that fine as “excessive” and justified the failure to obtain a permit by saying works were “very urgent”.

The agency later applied to sanction the illegal works.

Marsa pedestrian overbridge

Infrastructure Malta again pleaded urgency to justify installing a footbridge in Marsa without a valid planning permit.

Planning Ombudsman Alan Saliba ruled that was a misuse of the law, as there was no emergency in the case in question.

Infrastructure Malta once again started works without waiting to receive the necessary permits, saying it classified works as an emergency to make the area safer for pedestrians.

It took the agency a further 17 months to fully complete the project.

Azzopardi: we improved quality of life

When contacted, Azzopardi said Infrastructure Malta has “undoubtedly improved the quality of life of thousands of families”.

“There’s still a lot to be done. But I commend the commitment of the workers and professionals who delivered the unparalleled €475 million transformation of Malta’s road and maritime infrastructure in the last four years.”

“We rebuilt hundreds of streets and upgraded arterial routes that had been neglected for years.”

Azzopardi said that only Infrastructure Malta had the determination to complete projects such as the Marsa Junction and Central Link.

The agency removed outdated traffic lights that had been “tormenting” road users and residents with congestion, noise and exhaust for decades, he said.

The agency had also implemented some of Malta’s most important environmental projects in recent years, he said. These included the electrification of cruise ship operations at the Grand Harbour to eliminate vessels’ air pollution in one of the country’s most densely populated areas.

The end of a four-year stint

Azzopardi resigned as Infrastructure Malta CEO last April.

The former roads chief has defended his track record, saying that after years of neglect, the country was getting the investment needed to have high-quality roads with the safety levels it deserved.

Some hailed Azzopardi as a man who got things done, built overdue projects and shaved minutes off their daily commutes.

Others will remember him as the embodiment of the Infrastructure Malta bulldozers he was responsible for.

Infrastructure Malta got off to a rough start following his resignation, with his successor Trustin Farrugia Cann resigning after just one month. Ivan Falzon, former Water Services Corporation CEO, has now taken on the post.