Residents say they warned authorities about Naxxar construction site for years

For four years, residents near a Naxxar construction site sounded the alarm over safety risks. On Thursday night, those warnings were vindicated.

Residents said they brought in external architects and came close to seeking a court injunction on the works, but they stopped after being reassured by the contractor’s own architects.

“This is a matter of life and death,” the resident said. “We have children here.”

Ten families living near the construction site were told to evacuate after safety concerns were raised when the foundations of a multi-storey development suddenly gave way. 

For the residents in the area, it was the culmination of years of complaints. 

Apart from safety concerns, some residents said they had experienced damage to their properties. The resident's own soffit collapsed, but the contractor’s architect inspected it and dismissed it, saying the damage was pre-existing and advising the resident to consult his own architect.

Many residents have had the same experience: tiles cracking, soffits falling, and structural damage they were told has nothing to do with the site next door.

A close-up of the structural damage on site. Photo: Christian Sant Fournier.

Another resident, who moved into a nearby property in 2021, said there were always problems stemming from the site.

He said the first problem was the amount of dust from the construction site polluting the area.

“We couldn’t enjoy our property in peace. It was like a desert. It even became a health issue, as my kids developed asthma.”

Residents had also noticed construction workers using dangerous machinery close to the foundations of their property. The resident filed a police report, but it was ignored.

In another incident in the summer of 2023, two cranes swivelled in the same direction and got caught in each other.

“It was a close call, they could have fallen on our property. The load on one of the cranes crashed to the ground.”

Building and Construction Authority inspectors went on site and stopped the works after that, but residents wanted assurances about the depth of the digging.

“I thought the law states you can’t dig below a certain street level. We felt he was going very deep.”

The BCA and a government architect visited the site and gave residents a specific assurance: the work near the foundation would use a cutting blade rather than pile-driving, causing no structural movement and minimal disruption. Residents agreed to monitor the situation before escalating further.

From that point, the pace of development accelerated noticeably. The cutting work proceeded largely as promised, with some noise but nothing alarming. But residents noticed that the excavation was still going deeper than they thought it should.

"We always spoke in advance so we wouldn't end up in the situation we're in now. Unfortunately, that has happened," the resident said.

As a precaution, residents have been asked to evacuate their homes. When they asked the BCA directly whether there was a danger, the authority's response offered no clarity. 

Photos and video sent to Times of Malta show foundations and compacted earth beneath the development shifting, prompting fears among nearby residents that the building could collapse.

Site spans 12,000 square metres

The site is being developed by contractor Anton Camilleri, known as Tal-Franċiż, who is also behind the Villa Rosa mega-development proposal.

The site, which spans approximately 12,000 square metres, can be accessed from multiple points. Evacuated residents live in apartment blocks adjacent to the site on Francis Attard Street, where large boulders have now been placed to block entry into the site. Beyond the boulders, there is a cluster of nearly completed apartments, as well as a large open area earmarked for further development.

That open space is subject to a development application for 64 apartments, along with 10 recessed-floor units above approved garages. The specific area where the incident occurred is designated for garages.

Beyond this open space lies a steep drop into a quarry on the Milizzja Street side, where a wall separates the road from the edge. The tall, crumbling wall - shared widely in media reports on Thursday evening - is visible from the road, although the site itself cannot be accessed from there.

On Friday morning, a young man was seen looking over the wall. He explained that he is planning to get married and had recently purchased a property overlooking the site.

His apartment, intended to be his future matrimonial home, has since been cordoned off. While the structure is complete, finishing works are still ongoing.

“I came here to see. I’m trying to understand what’s happening at the moment,” he said, noting that his apartment was built by the same developer responsible for the site.

Meanwhile, on Francis Attard Street, a worker arrived to continue finishing works on the apartment block, only to find access blocked by the large boulders. After waiting for some time, he eventually left.

Shortly afterwards, a BCA officer arrived to verify that no works were taking place, as the authority is currently conducting an investigation.

One man, whose family was evacuated, said he was at work when his wife called to tell him they had to leave their home. Another resident said she had not been home on Thursday when neighbours reported hearing a loud noise, though she noted she had heard similar sounds on another occasion in the past.

A third resident, who lives nearby, described the site as “a mess” over the past three years. He said works had been inconsistent, frequently starting and stopping.

Attempts to get a comment from BCA were unsuccessful.