Residents of a Swieqi road have complained of noisy lorries driving past their homes late into the night to access the building site at db Group’s City Centre project.

One woman living on Triq tal-Ibraġ said she saw “15 trucks pass by” on Tuesday evening while others said they had been on the road from 6am until after midnight.

Residents also say some trucks were not covered and the white dust they left behind made it hard to breathe.

A spokesperson from db Group, which is responsible for the building site, said it was an “extraordinary measure”.

Work started on the massive City Centre project last year at the site of the old Institute for Tourism Studies straddling St George’s Bay and Pembroke.

Residents, NGOs and local councils, including of Swieqi, had objected to the massive project.

Mayor Noel Muscat told Times of Malta he was inundated with messages from residents who felt disrespected by the decision to allow trucks to pass by the street late into the night.

“We have been totally against this project from the beginning, and, if works must go on, they should not cause detriment to our residents,” he said.

We are extremely disappointed with the way that we have been treated and I sincerely hope that it will not repeat itself- Swieqi mayor Noel Muscat

“During the planning stage, the council had requested that no massive vehicles pass through this road.

“Whether the request was accepted or not, we don’t know but it wouldn’t make a difference because residents are disrespected continuously.”

“After midnight and, still, these heavily loaded trucks coming and going nonstop,” said one resident.

“It has been (like this) since 6.15am yesterday (Monday), non-stop till late evening,” another commented.

The trucks were carrying material for the works and another resident said they left debris behind.

“And most (if not all) trucks were not even covered; go and see the condition of the road. It is all covered with tiny stones and this causes the white dust. I went out a bit to get something  and couldn’t breathe properly…”

Residents noted the presence of Transport Malta officials who were at the site to divert the flow of traffic to allow the trucks and concrete mixers to pass.

The mayor said he is consulting the council’s lawyer and architect to see what measures can be taken.

‘Works of rough foundations now complete’

A db Group spokesperson told Times of Malta that the road was used for two days for foundation works at the site, which required “uninterrupted operations”.

“These works were limited to the casting of the rough foundations which took place in the last two days,” he said, adding that those works are now complete.

“Such extraordinary events are also liaised and coordinated with Transport Malta. As explained, this was an extraordinary measure due to particular works which had to be carried out uninterruptedly.”

He said Transport Malta officials were directing traffic accordingly and that the officials’ time was at the company’s expense.

The spokesperson could not rule out if the road will be used again in the future but said such measures will be kept as a last resort.

Muscat said he had not been informed about the company’s movements.

“We are extremely disappointed with the way that we have been treated and I sincerely hope that it will not repeat itself,” he said.

“Where does the local council feature in this scenario? Aren’t we responsible for the administration of the locality? This is an enormous project that will require many other ‘one-offs’.

The project includes the construction of three towers rising at 17, 16 and 12 floors. It also includes high-end apartments, retail, commercial space and a hotel.