The disused saltpans at the Salina are up for a new lease of life as a €7 million project for the area’s regeneration was approved by the planning authority’s board yesterday.
Dating back to the time of the knights of the Order of St John, the man-made saltpans have not been used for salt production in years and the huts built alongside by the British for salt storage are a jumble of wood, stone and metal.
Following approval, the shabby huts will be demolished and rebuilt using modern techniques. They will still, however, be clad in wooden panels, in a style respecting the original appearance of the building.
According to architect Claude Busuttil, the British huts were only meant to be temporary and he doubted whether the timber used originally was the right choice for such a structure.
One of the huts will serve as a visitors’ centre related to salt and the other two will be used for the production of upmarket salt.
Walls surrounding the saltpans will be rebuilt and the pans themselves, which are paved, will be cleaned before production resumes.
The surrounding marshland and garigue will be cleaned and bird-watching posts will be built to spy on the birds inhabiting the ecosystem.
The Ximenes Redoubt, the fortified building separated from the rest of the saltpans by the coast road, is also up for a revamp. The EU-funded project foresees the 1715 building being used as an interpretation centre for the whole area and a call for tenders for the restoration of the building has already been issued.
Two boat jetties will be constructed, one near the marshland and the other on the side of the interpretation centre. The boats used are expected to have an electric motor to avoid any possible contamination.
The interpretation centre will be linked to the boat jetty through a new underground link, which will facilitate access without the need to disrupt road traffic. Work on the area has already started.
The water canal known as Is-Sukkurs, which circulates seawater round the saltpans, has been cleaned and reopened and a 90-metre wall built at the time of the knights has been restored and reinforced. These works cost €250,000.
The Resources Ministry said about 10,000 tonnes of debris was removed from the 835-metre-long canal, which had been the root cause of the stench of rotten eggs synonymous with the area.
At yesterday’s public hearings at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, the board also approved the building of an office and commercial block at SmartCity in Kalkara. The six-storey building will, according to architect Paul Camilleri, be 80-per-cent energy efficient and will span 12,000 square metres.
At the same meeting, the change of use of a garage to a showroom in Birkirkara was unanimously rejected.