A vacant site instead of a €12m care home, years after pre-election pledge
In 2019 the government promised a care home on Ganu Street, Birkirkara. It remains an abandoned lot
A €12 million home for the elderly, announced days before the 2019 European Parliament elections, has yet to be built, with the site today lying vacant and being used as an unofficial car park.
The project was announced on May 15, 2019, when the government said a plot of land on Triq Ganu in Birkirkara would be developed into a residential home for the elderly.
According to the approved planning application (PA/00064/18), the facility was planned to include 138 beds and 81 guestrooms. The plans also included four levels of parking providing 119 parking spaces.
Seven years later, however, there is no evidence of construction. The plot remains empty and is currently being used as an unofficial car park, with surveillance cameras also being installed on the site.
A visualisation of the project submitted to the Planning Authority.The original announcement came shortly before the 2019 MEP elections, held in May that year. The press call at the time was attended by ministers Konrad Mizzi, Michael Falzon and junior minister Anthony Agius Decelis.
Despite the announcement and the planning approval, the site has remained unchanged since.
Use of space
One resident who spoke to Times of Malta said the locality would benefit from a different use of the space.
“There aren’t many green spaces in Birkirkara; it is built up, and a green public space would be nice to have, as opposed to an illegal car park.”
However, the resident added that the original proposal for a home for the elderly would also have been a positive development.
The person using the site for parking could not be identified at the time of publication. Times of Malta contacted several nearby car dealerships and car-related businesses, all of which denied using the plot.
Green spaces in Birkirkara are very limited.Projects Malta had originally applied for the project in 2018.
The government entity has since been dissolved. Some parts of Projects Malta were later absorbed into Projects Plus, while other projects were returned to the relevant ministries.
Residents of Birkirkara deserve clarity and accountability on what was once presented as a significant investment for the locality- Birkirkara mayor Desirei Grech
Architect never got go-ahead
According to the planning application, the architect for the proposed development was Simon Darmanin. Contacted for comment, Darmanin said he had worked on the original application but had never received instructions to proceed with the project.
“I worked on the application, it was approved, but I never got any instructions to continue with the project.”
The last update on the Planning Authority’s website regarding the application dates back to August 2021.
Parliamentary questions in 2024 shed some light on the project’s status.
In response to a question, Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela said that “by agreement between the two ministries concerned, the land identified for the project is to be transferred to the Housing Authority. This is with the aim that, within the project, affordable sheltered homes for the elderly will be built.”
A year later, the lands minister at the time, Stefano Zrinzo Azzopardi, was also asked about the project and said the site was under the control of the Housing Authority.
Council in the dark
Birkirkara mayor Desirei Grech said the local council has not been involved in any discussions about the project since she took office in 2024.
She said no documentation, correspondence, plans or updates had been presented to her or formally brought to the council’s attention.
“Residents of Birkirkara deserve clarity and accountability on what was once presented as a significant investment for the locality. Transparency and proper coordination with the local council are essential when projects of this magnitude are announced in the name of our community.”
Questions have since been sent to both the Housing Authority and Active Ageing, which had originally been involved in the project when it was first proposed in 2018.