Work begins to turn Floriana's Pinetum into a public park

Work has started on a €7.2 million project to transform Floriana's Jubilee Grove, better known as the Pinetum, into a public park and botanical space.

The project covers around 58,000 square metres in the Sa Maison area and forms part of the National Botanic Gardens masterplan for the site, one of the last remaining glacis landscapes in the Maltese islands. The area, which has historical links dating back to the Knights of St John, has largely remained inaccessible and neglected for years.

Works to develop the park will also include the restoration of historic British-era structures. 

Environment Minister Miriam Dalli and European Funds Minister Keith Azzopardi Tanti visited the site on Wednesday to mark the start of works, alongside Project Green officials and representatives of the Floriana local council.

Initial works include site clearing and the restoration of Nissen huts, semi-cylindrical prefabricated structures built during the British period and later used as telecommunications stores. Under the plans, the huts will be converted into greenhouses, botanical gardens and training facilities.

The rehabilitation project has been years in the making, with the government having previously earmarked the site for restoration and fencing, as well as improved public access. 

Dalli said the project would return an abandoned site to public use while linking it to other regeneration initiatives around the Grand Harbour.

Ministers Keith Azzopardi Tanti and Miriam Dalli led a visit to the site on Wednesday. Photo: DOi/Pierre Sammut

"With one project after another, we are continuing to provide more open spaces for the public. This time, we are seeing the rehabilitation of a site that had been abandoned for several years and which, thanks to the work of Project Green, will now be brought back to life," she said.

Azzopardi Tanti said more than €7.2 million in European funds were being invested in the project.

Project manager David Ellul said the aim was to create a public space that combined environmental and historical heritage features while respecting the site's existing landscape.

Plans include picnic areas, upgraded pathways and landscaping works designed to improve public accessibility while preserving the area's topography.

The Pinetum was originally established as a recreational green space in the late 19th century and today forms part of the wider National Botanic Gardens vision, which seeks to create a network of botanical and educational spaces across Malta.