Mdina paving expected to start soon

The tender for the long awaited paving project for Mdina is expected to be awarded in the coming weeks, Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit said.

The paving in Mdina has been long in coming and it was supposed to start being put in place once all the utilities had been laid underground. However, the project is not yet completed and electrical cables still have to be placed underground before any paving can be laid in the city's streets.

Last February, the then Infrastructure Minister, Francis Zammit Dimech, had reported that the project would start in April. However, April's commencement date for the old city's paving was pushed back to September.

The work has been further delayed and the tenders for the project have yet to be awarded since they are still in the adjudication process.

In July last year, the Mdina Rehabilitation Project had presented an application to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority for the paving of all the streets of Mdina.

It was reported that the decision on the paving material came after months of preparation by the Mdina Rehabilitation Committee and by a special group that considered the question in detail. The committee also consulted two Italian experts.

It was also reported that the committee had opted for the use of hardstone from Sicily in view of its cultural and geological similarities to Maltese hardstone.

When contacted yesterday Mdina Rehabilitation Project executive coordinator Ray Bondin said the project to place all the utilities underground was now in its final stages.

"The system is fully functional but we still have to place the electrical cables underground," he said. Dr Bondin said that as soon as the electrical cables are in place the Enemalta wiring will also be removed.

Work on the Lm600,000-project is expected to take 18 months and will start as soon as the tender is awarded, he said.

Dr Bondin added that the project was only delayed by about two months due to tendering procedure and submitted proposals.

The MRP was also currently testing the submitted samples at an Italian laboratory to ensure that Malta only gets the best quality hardstone available.