Budget 2026: Public call for development of Selmun Palace, Fort Campbell

The government will issue a public call next year for the development of Selmun Palace and the nearby Fort Campbell, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced in the Budget speech.

The aim, he said, was for the country to make the best economic use of the palace while the old fort would be used for public recreational purposes.

Selmun Palace was built at the time of the Knights and a hotel was controversially built alongside it in the 1970s. They were operated by Air Malta but were closed and handed back to the government several years ago. 

Fort Campbell is mostly in ruin.

Fort Campbell was the last major fort to be built by the British services, in the first part of the 20th century and aimed at anti-aircraft and coastal defence. It has been in disuse since the 1970s and lies mostly in ruins. 

A market study will also be held, followed by a public call for an underground car park and an open space in Sliema.

A public call will also be issued for a Family Amusement Park at Ta’ Qali.

The minister said the Msida Creek project will be completed next year, and the government's biggest new project will be the rehabilitation of the promenade at Birzebbuġa.

There will be the building of a new blood bank and initial works on the gradual rehabilitation of St Luke’s Hospital to become a healthcare village. The focus next year will be on one block, known as H Block, for outpatient services.

[attach id="1459534" size="large" align="left" type="image"]Work will start next year on one of the blocks at St Luke's Hospital to provide outpatient services.. [/attach]

Work would continue next year on turning the Sant’ Antnin waste recycling plant into a green recreational space, with other green projects at Vjal ir-Riħan in San Gwann and St Anne Street in Floriana, the building of an underground carpark in Cospicua and a Sustainable Innovation Hub in Birzebbuġa on the site of the former fuel storage site in San Luċjan.

Works will also be carried out on the regeneration of the village core in Marsa while a jogging and cycling track will be laid out at Ta’ Qali park.

The water tunnels under Birkirkara will be extended to ease flooding near Mater Dei Hospital.

A call for tenders will also be issued for the Birkirkara water gallery to be extended to ease rainwater flooding in the area of Mater Dei Hospital.

No new major investment in the road network was announced but there will be a study into ways to ease traffic congestion in Victoria, Gozo, and several existing roads in Gozo will be redone.

A call for tender will be issued to extend the Gozo heliport to operate small aircraft, a project already approved by the Planning Authority.