The ominous sound of silence emanating from the corridors of power, Mepa, the ministries concerned, environmentalists, the Chamber of Architects and other organisations in response to my recent suggestion (July 21) with regard to land reclamation from the sea, particularly in areas already polluted like the Maghtab foreshore, is indeed very intriguing.
Is it the silence of the lambs? Am I so naïve to the extent that my suggestion, a blessing for Holland, Monaco, Barcelona, Singapore, Hong Kong etc, does not warrant a feeble response? Are we so shell-shocked by the wanton neglect to our physical environment that we have ceased to care any more? Have we run out of steam? Are these the embryonic signs of a dangerous malaise that has swept the country?
In all honesty I envisaged a spate of correspondence and a national debate regarding the feasibility or otherwise of reclaiming land from the sea as a possible solution to the waste management problem with the added benefit of obtaining prime property for yacht marinas, leisure areas and parks.
I think it was Friedrich Nietzsche, one of the most influential thinkers of our times, who said that worthwhile ideas have a tendency to arrive on tiptoes. Sometimes too that's how they depart. Thus, instead of cautiously tiptoeing on, I intend to put on my heavy ex-Territorial army boots in order to noisily corroborate and support my previous obscure and half formulated notions about land reclamation with tangible examples from the Mediterranean region and the Far East in the pious hope that the matter be discussed in all seriousness by the competent authorities.
Monaco, the smallest secular state in the world, with an area of 1.6 square kilometres and a population of 31,000 has since 1958 increased in size by about 20 per cent thanks to a well-planned reclamation programme.
Considered as Prince Rainer's major achievement in his 55-year reign over the Principality, land reclamation has provided this tiny state with an extended harbour area to include facilities for yachts and cruise liners. The new city of Fontveille, specifically reclaimed from the sea to specialise in non-polluting industries, has been highly acclaimed as a masterpiece of structural engineering.
Considered as the most environmentally conscious country on the planet (in fact a polluting enterprise like fish-farming is farmed out to countries like Malta in the form of joint ventures), Monaco's tradition of embarking on ground-breaking reclamation projects will in future be spearheaded by Prince Albert, heir to the throne, who on a recent visit to Malta for the Small Nations Games remarked about Malta's insensitivity to environmental concerns.
In Barcelona, land reclamation has played a significant role in the industrial, commercial and tourist potential of this forward-looking maritime city. Major projects to claim more land from the sea, south of the Ramblas popular promenade, are in hand in the container zone, intended to be the main distribution centre for Europe.
In Venice, the new town of Marghera was not built on the mainland proper but on 550 hectares of barene (sand banks) reinforced with silt from the lagoon bed and raised to a height of some eight feet above sea level.
Hong Kong, once one of the most important outposts of the British Empire in the Far East until it was handed back to the Chinese in 1998, has for decades reclaimed land from the sea in order to keep abreast of modern development - and to acquire more precious land for its 6.8 million people crammed in 1,084 square kilometres, one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
Major projects include the airport recently built on reclaimed land; world famous engineers like I.M. Pei, a partner of Renzo Piano whom we discarded, left their architectural marks on impressive buildings erected on reclaimed land. In spite of its limited space, Hong Kong, thanks to land reclamation, has provided more areas for public parks than any other county in the world.
Singapore, with a population of over four million, embarked on huge reclamation projects in the 1960s in order to provide more room for its population and its ever-expanding economy. Today it is five per cent bigger in size equivalent to 33 square kilometres, which is estimated to extend to 820 square kilometres, by 2010 requiring 1.8 billion cubic metres of debris.
Over the years Singapore has gone as far as to flatten its hills for dumping into the sea in order to expand its area. Land reclamation in Singapore costs an estimated 15 Singapore dollars per square metre but is then sold at about 850 Singapore dollars per square metre.
The practice of land reclamation from the sea is a very ancient one. Perhaps the most notable example, indeed a success story, is the Dutch experience whose expertise was availed of by successive Malta governments for local projects. Modern technology in the field of land reclamation is now more widespread. Can Malta obtain enough structural funds from the European Union to help us with this venture?