Works on the Sliema ferries landing terminal are expected to be completed by the end of the year and should be running by the first quarter of next year.

The project has dragged on for years with no end appearing in sight for a project intended to provide safer embarkation facilities.

The ongoing works include connection of infrastructural services, completion of the promenade, the installation of the louvres and minor finishing works for the superstructure, a Transport Ministry spokesperson told Times of Malta.

The upgrading of the terminal was first announced in 2018 and is part of a €5 million project, including the construction of a new ferry landing site in Cospicua.

The project includes the construction of complex quay structures going down almost three storeys underwater, supported on concrete piles drilled even deeper in the seabed. The new ferry landing area will include a sheltered waiting area and safer embarkation ramps.

Works on the Strand started in 2019

Works on the new quay on the Strand started back in April 2019, with plans for the project to be completed by 2020. The delay in the project was attributed to rough seas and a contractor not meeting established deadlines.

Last year, Infrastructure Malta said the works would be completed and running by the third quarter of 2023, saying at the time that “final works” were taking place.

Infrastructure Malta said works will be completed in about three weeks, but the terminal will be in operation once the project is handed to Transport Malta, which takes care of the running and schedule of the ferries.