Around 1,000 native trees have been planted in an area of Bengħajsa behind the Birżebbuġa freeport, with plans to plant thousands more in the coming months. 

Environment Minister Jose Herrera said that carob, cypress, pine and other native species would be planted in an area of 90 tumoli, creating what he called "a small forest".  

The area had originally been earmarked for freeport expansion, but  complaints by locals about overdevelopment and too much noise prompted a change of heart. 

"We decided that we would you use this nature park to compensate for the stress and disturbance to the locals caused by the industry of the freeport," the minister said.

The area had suffered soil erosion so the biggest challenge and expense had been to bring new soil to the area.

"Hopefully this project will start attracting birds again and nature will regenerate."

The project has cost around €250,000 so far, and most of the costs have been incurred on purchasing and moving new soil to the area.

Growing numbers

Plans for the area appear to be growing in scope. 

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had mentioned the project last February and said 5,000 trees would be planted there. In May, the Environment Minister said that there were plans to plant 8,000 trees at the site.   

Speaking on Friday, Dr Herrera mentioned even greater numbers. The site would eventually host 20,000 native trees, he pledged. Around 8,000 trees of those would be planted in the coming months, joining the 1,000 already planted.