A concrete bucket, that is part of a construction site to build a 15-storey hotel on the Sliema front, was left dangling over a busy side street in Sliema on Thursday morning.
Nobody was present to stop traffic or move the concrete bucket out of the way so cars were forced to drive underneath the concrete bucket that was left swinging and turning mid-air.
Pedestrians - including children - walked along the pavement of Triq Lunzjata as it was not closed to the public.
"I stopped my car waiting for a workman or a health and safety official to signal me through. After waiting three minutes, I had no choice but to drive past quickly. Construction has become a national danger," said one driver trying to make his way through to The Strand on Thursday morning.
The construction site, which lies on the corner of Triq ix-Xatt and Triq il-Lunzjata, is for a 15-storey hotel that mega-developer Carlo Stivala is building along the Sliema front (PA/03229/23).
The permit was given the green light by the Planning Authority last week.
Besides the current 15-storey hotel that is being built, Stivala also plans on building another 15-storey hotel on the corner of Triq ix-Xatt and Triq San Vincenz - the street adjacent to Triq Lunzjata - which has been recommended for approval by a planning authority case officer (PA/02965/23).
Last week, Times of Malta confirmed that the contractor was fined €1,500 by Transport Malta for illegally closing off Triq San Vincenz to install a tower crane.
The crane - which is intended to be used for the construction of both hotels – was placed there prior to either of the planning applications being approved.
For the approved hotel on Triq Lunzjata, Stivala had first obtained permission to demolish the former bank building on the corner of Triq ix-Xatt and Triq il-Lunzjata and rebuild it into an eight-floor apartment block in 2013.
Three years later, the Planning Authority approved a new permit to add a ninth floor to the building and in 2023, Stivala applied to turn the project into a 15-floor development featuring a hotel and restaurant.
Prior to the permit being approved, Stivala was accused of having already built 13 of the 15 storeys, when he only had a permit to build nine storeys.
Although Stivala insisted that critics had miscalculated the height of the construction, minutes from a meeting indicated a fine of over €48,000 was due if the project was approved due to the application including sanctioning.
Stivala is the brother of Malta Development Association president Michael Stivala.
In 2020, Carlo Stivala left the family business, Stivala Group Finance plc, in a departure that saw some €81.2 million in assets transferred to his company Cast Holdings Limited.
According to the firm’s accounts for 2022, the latest year for which records are available, Cast Holdings Limited owns more than €97 million in assets.