The third and largest sewage treatment plant at Xgħajra is operational and as a result Malta is now the first country in the Mediterranean to treat all its sewage before dumping it at sea.
The €60 million plant situated in Ta’ Barkat is treating 80 per cent of sewage generated in Malta and replaces the previous sewage outfall in Wied Għammieq, which used to pollute the sea along Xgħajra’s coastline.
The expenditure was part-financed by the EU which forked out 85 per cent of the cost.
The Ta’ Barkat facility, which is run by the Water Services Corporation, was inaugurated yesterday by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.
Dr Gonzi used the occasion to hammer home the point that his government took the strategic decision to stop subsidies on water and electricity bills and instead use the money to invest in facilities that were beneficial to the environment.
In a brief speech, Dr Gonzi insisted that the sewage treatment plant was another example of how the government’s strategy to turn Malta into a centre of excellence by 2015 was not just a wish list.
“We took the right decisions. We made strategic choices. We have modernised the country and our achievement is of a higher significance because we started from scratch,” Dr Gonzi told the sizeable crowd made up of dignitaries, WSC officials, ministry and department officials and other guests.
The pouring rain disrupted a planned tour of the facility but it did not prevent the Prime Minister from unveiling a monument designed by artist Gabriel Caruana.
The treated water from the plant will be discharged from a pipeline that protrudes one kilometre out to sea. It will liberate the Xgħajra coastline, stretching all the way to Marsascala, from the pollution caused in the past when raw sewage was discharged directly to the sea.
Dr Gonzi emphasised that the treatment of all sewage meant that Malta would have cleaner and safer seas. He said Ta’ Barkat was “a practical example” of investment to help families and children by giving them a cleaner environment.
The investment in the plant was also a sign of his government’s commitment to improve environmental standards in the south.
Xgħajra mayor Anthony Valvo welcomed the investment. The local council will be taking part in an environment monitoring committee set up jointly with WSC.
The Ta’ Barkat facility, spread over 40 tumoli, will receive drainage via a tunnel from the Marsa pumping station at a rate of two million litres per hour.
Marc Muscat, WSC chief executive, said that an underground gallery could store raw sewage for up to six hours if the facility had to be shut down for emergency repairs.
He explained that the solid parts in the sewage will be filtered out and the sludge treated in specialised machines to produce biogas that will enable the plant to generate one megawatt hour of electricity. The resultant solid waste will be disposed of at the Magħtab landfill.