Jordanian sand for bay reclamation

Five thousand cubic metres of sand will be imported from Jordan in May for the much anticipated beach reclamation project in St George's Bay.

After years of hunting high and low for the most appropriate type of sand for the beach, Jordanian company Safi Dead Sea Products was chosen to provide the sand, which needed to be of a heavy and coarse consistency to ensure it was not swept away by rough seas.

Project leader consultant George Micallef said the sand will be shipped to Malta in large bags of one cubic metre capacity each, to eliminate the possibility of spillage and dust dispersal during transport.

The contract for the provision and transport of the sand was estimated to cost Lm200,000, Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said.

The total cost of the project is estimated at Lm550,000, a bill which will be footed by the government, Dr Zammit Dimech said.

This project has taken a long time to reach fruition and a total of 11 quarries were contacted and 19 sand samples considered before the Jordanian company was chosen.

Joe Sciortino, coastal engineering consultant, said their task was made harder by the fact that sand contaminated with organisms from foreign beaches could not be imported.

"We had to go to terrestrial sources looking for manufactured sand. Our final choice will ensure that we will not lose the beach in the wind," he said.

Mr Sciortino said the future of beach replenishment in Malta hinged on the success of this project and he was confident it would be a success story.

The beach development project was yesterday discussed at length during a presentation by the Tourism Ministry and the Malta Tourism Authority at the Intercontinental Hotel.

Mr Micallef said the first phase of the project will start in mid-March with the partial works on the water culvert, the upgrading of the drainage system and the placement of sand.

All this work will be completed before the summer kicks off and then resume in October for completion before summer 2005.

Preliminary designs of the promenade have been prepared by the Works Division and will be reviewed subject to the design of the storm water system.

No cars will be able to park along the road behind the beach so as to ensure sufficient space for two-way traffic and a three-metre-wide promenade.

Mr Micallef said that during the implementation of the project a certain level of disruption was inevitable and parts of the road network would have to be closed to traffic.

The MTA's beach management strategy was to allow free and unencumbered access to the entire beach to the public during the day. Security at night was also a priority.

MTA has made arrangements with the Land Department for the development and lease of facilities, including a catering outlet, a kiosk and a gazebo for the rental of deckchairs and open showers.