It was around the beginning of the 20th century when Bishop Pietro Pace asked Lorenzo Balbi to build a church at Marsa. With the project of the Porto Nouvo the vast increasing population was around 6,000, scattered around the inner harbour area, from Ras Ħanżir to Valletta, and from Blata l-Bajda to Tas-Samra Hill, down to Tal-Istabar around the racecourse as far as Qormi.

Balbi heeded the bishop’s desire and built the new church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity in less than three years. It eventually became a parish in 1913 while Malta was hosting the International Eucharistic Congress.

Then Marsa flourished into a new town with residents and work opportunities all over the place. Sadly, Marsa has recently been in the news for opposite reasons: we are witnessing a steep decline. It is sad to read that in the last 20 years the local population has decreased by half.

What is needed to reverse all this is a sustainable regeneration programme. First and foremost a social housing programme which could see around 500 new families settle at Marsa and an ambitious regeneration project for the harbour area which offers a perfect setting for a yacht marina and a Marsa Waterfront with restaurants, yacht clubs and yacht repair yards.

Politicians come and promise heaven on earth, but what is really needed is determination and will power for any of this to ever materialise. The sooner the better.