Valletta’s Castille Square remains a mess of unsightly hoarding and confusing traffic arrangements, as disorganisation surrounds a €1.6 million revamp. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Two and a half months after renovation works started at Castille Square, Valletta, the area remains an ever-changing labyrinth and the disorganisation persists.

Crude hoarding has been used to cordon off construction zones and form passageways for traffic and pedestrians alike but with the configuration changing daily, pedestrians often appear at a loss when attempting to find a safe path through.

Signage remains scarce and as barriers regularly shift position, signs frequently point visitors in entirely the wrong direction. At the time of writing, a sign purporting to point to the city centre directs traffic into a café.

Hastily laid metal and wooden coverings pose a danger to pedestrians, and collapsed hoarding and discarded signs litter the square, a poor first impression of the city for the thousands of tourists, including cruise liner passengers, filing through as the height of the season approaches.

While Transport Malta officials are on hand to direct traffic throughout the day, the already fraught situation has been made worse by a number of vehicles parking in the narrow passages, forcing traffic into tricky manoeuvres just to get through.

Moreover, anyone hoping for some sort of apology for the inconvenience must make do with a barely noticeable, solitary sign in Merchant’s Street.

Hastily laid covers pose a danger to pedestrians, and collapsed hoarding and discarded signs litter the square, giving a poor first impression

The €1.6 million revamp, announced in early March ahead of November’s Commonwealth summit, has raised eyebrows ever since the project was rushed through with a simple so-called development notification order.

The design for the square, which will be fully pedestrianised after all the trees left standing in its centre were removed, also drew criticism from leading architects.

The works have also made life difficult for business in the area. Mario Azzopardi, general manager of the Castille Hotel, said that since works started so soon after the project was announced, the hotel had no time to inform its guests, resulting in a number of clients leaving and others settling for a discount.

“Business at our restaurants has practically ground to a halt. As you can imagine, the negative financial repercussions are enormous.”

Acknowledging the authorities had been very helpful in sorting out problems that cropped up, Mr Azzopardi said the works should have been carried out in winter to avoid the tourist season.

He also expressed disappointment that the characteristic hard stone paving of the pavements in the area would not be retained.