A call for tenders has been issued for the planned waterpolo pitch along the Marsascala promenade on Triq is-Salini.
The Marsascala Sports Club was evicted from the old national pool complex at Żonqor Point as part of the land concession linked to the American University of Malta project. The government had committed to providing an alternate site for the pitch.
Architect Janice Borg from the infrastructure ministry announced at a press conference today that the proposed site for the new pitch had been finalised and a call for tenders issued.
The site, close to the former Etvan Hotel, was preferred to others on the opposite side of the bay because it provided more shelter, while the height of the promenade allowed for the club building to be built below street level and hidden from view.
The complex will include a 33-metre long pool as well, which will be heated year-round, as well as a smaller indoor pool. The club building below the promenade will include changing rooms and a restaurant.
A planning application for the new 6,075 square metre pitch was filed last December, and is expected to be decided upon by the end of the year. According to the terms of the tender, works must be completed within 78 weeks from the date it is awarded.
Marsascala Sports Club president Aaron Simpson said the new facilities would be a “step up” and benefit the wider area. The club had filed an injunction had filed an injunction against the Land Department last June over their eviction from the Żonqor facilities, but this was later withdrawn.
The proposal has proved controversial with residents and mariners, some 150 of whom signed a petition which was presented to the Prime Minister last October, arguing that the pitch would cause noise pollution and parking problems in the adjacent residential area.
Mr Simpson today responded to the criticism by insisting any noise pollution would be minimal, and that questions over parking would be addressed in the planning process. The club has also held meetings with residents in an attempt to address their concerns.
Boat owners, meanwhile, have expressed their fears that they will no longer be able to moor their boats in the area, as well as highlighting that Marsascala Bay is already narrow and therefore difficult to navigate.
Transport Malta representative Konrad Muscat said the authority had met with mariners and assured them that all moorings affected by the project would be relocated.
He added that the project was an opportunity to upgrade the system in place across the whole bay. Mariners have been asked to register their berthing spots to allow the harbour to be organised more holistically.