PA approves plans to decommission San Luċjan fuel storage tanks
Ministry wants to have Birżebbuġa area cleared by end of the year
Plans to decommission and dismantle oil tanks at San Luċjan have been approved by the Planning Authority.
Petromal will now be issuing a call for tender seeking bids from companies willing to remove the 12 massive tanks at the heavy fuel oil storage facility and clean up the area.
The aim is for the Birżebbuġa area to be completely cleared by the end of the year, the Environment and Energy Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Fuel storage was shifted away from the San Luċjan to Ħas-Saptan in 2021, in the first step to rehabilitating the Birżebbuġa area.
On the cusp of the 2022 general election, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli announced plans to transform the site into a €40 million research space and recreational area named ‘Is-Siċċa’ and designed by Italian design house Pininfarina.
Little else was divulged about those plans in the ensuing months.
The San Luċjan complex. Photo: DOIOn Saturday, the ministry reiterated its intention to turn the 18,000 square metre area into one focused on sustainable industry and recreational use.
It said Petromal – the state-owned parent company of the more familiar Enemed – has spent months preparing to decommission the San Luċjan facility, to ensure that work is done in a safe way.
Health and safety officers who will oversee the decommissioning have already been selected following a call for expressions of interest, the ministry said. It did not name the company appointed.
The ministry said that the site’s decommissioning plan was prepared in consultation with the Environment and Resources Authority and involved technical studies of land in the area, to understand what forms of decontamination are required.