Design plans to transform San Ġwann’s main road into a green open space have been submitted to the Planning Authority, Environment Minister Miriam Dalli said on Wednesday. 

While Vjal ir-Rihan will be transformed into a green space, Misraħ Lourdes and Misraħ Lewsa will get underground parking areas. 

The project’s architect, Beverley Costa, said works are expected to last four years once the tendering process is completed and work starts.

It will be split into phases to reduce inconvenience, she said.  

The project will see the transformation of Karin Grech garden, opposite the Parish Church. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Speaking during the conference, Dalli said the planned gardens and recreational areas replacing the busy arterial road will “breathe new life” into the lives of around 6,000 families in the locality. 

“The heart of San Ġwann currently has one of the busiest roads in our country in the middle of its centre,” she said. 

The plan includes creating a 7,200-square-metre green open space that would include an aquatic garden, a playground, an amphitheatre, and a community gardening area. 

There will also be cycling and running lanes surrounded by more than 350 trees that will be newly planted without removing any of those already in place, Dalli added.

“This is a change our families want to see, making our urban landscapes greener and more accessible for current and future generations.”

Project architect Beverley Costa (left), Environment Minister Miram Dalli and Project Green CEO Steve Ellul on Wednesday. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

The plans were first announced by Project Green in January. The agency has been tasked by the government to implement the €700 million greening projects promised during the last electoral campaign.

Dalli said that after consultation with stakeholders, including the San Ġwann council, residents and businesses, the project proposals were presented to the Planning Authority. 

“We wanted to know what the children, the elderly, local council and businesses want from this environmental transformation,” she said. 

Project Green CEO Steve Ellul said the project is envisaged to become one of the biggest green spaces in an urban area in Malta. 

“We want to change the mindset that one cannot have a big green space in urban areas,” he said. 

A superimposed render of the project. Photo: Project Green