A contractor who illegally closed a busy side street in Sliema to install a tower crane has been fined €1,500, Transport Malta (TM) has confirmed.
Last month, Triq San Vincenz, off Sliema ferries, was closed off without TM permission, blocking the street to cars.
The regulator told Times of Malta the contractor was fined the “maximum allowed by law”, later clarifying the exact amount.
The crane was installed in the middle of the street for use on at least one major project by developer Carlo Stivala, who plans to build two hotels in the area metres away from each other.
While the crane has a permit from the Planning Authority, a TM spokesperson said the contractor responsible for the site had failed to obtain a different permit which is required before closing the street to undertake major roadworks. This is the ‘RWP1’ permit.
Missing the view of Valletta? The crane has you covered. Photo: James Cummings“Any road closure requires an RWP1 permit from Transport Malta, the spokesperson said.
“In this case, no such permit was issued from Transport Malta, meaning the contractor had no authorisation whatsoever to proceed with the works,” he said.
Times of Malta understands the permit was also required to carry out trenching works in the street while building the crane.
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.
Sliema residents reacted angrily to the arrival of the crane last month, protesting that the area had been turned into a construction site.
Residents also complained about the removal of nine parking bays on nearby Triq Lawrenz, to accommodate two-way traffic on the formerly one-way street due to the closure of the street now housing the crane.
A Planning Authority site plan for the crane shows the development site covering the bottom of Triq San Vincenz, where Stivala has permission to build a nine-floor apartment block while awaiting approval on a 15-storey hotel.
A separate Stivala application to build a 79-room hotel across 15 floors on the corner of nearby Triq San Lunzjata – also seemingly covered by the crane permit – was approved by the Planning Authority last Thursday.