Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation has issued a tender asking for the removal of 13 mature trees from along the fortifications at Marsamxett – but the entity has promised that its refurbishment project would eventually result in more being planted.
GHRC is upgrading the pavement along the bastion side of Marsamxett and St Sebastian roads in Valletta over the coming months, as part of the regeneration of Valletta.
The trees are described in the tender as being between four and five metres. They run along the fortifications leading up to the gun post. The tender, which was issued recently, closes on February 11 and rather chillingly asks for quotes to include “the removal, felling and stump grinding” of the trees.
Environmentalists have been vociferously objecting to the sacrificing of trees for various road extensions and projects. But the GHRC insists that before the tender was issued, it had consulted experts and acquired a permit from the Environment and Resources Authority for the works.
It also said that by the end of the project, overall more trees would stand than before, having a new irrigation system and new tree grilles.
“Of the existing 54 olive trees, 11 will be transplanted to Hastings Garden together with three tamarisk trees, as per an agreement with the Valletta council,” a spokesman for GHRC told Times of Malta.
“The 11 olive trees were earmarked specifically because they have been felled in the past and have grown outwards – making pedestrian flow difficult,” it said, adding that 11 trees, mainly alien species – not 13 as specified in the tender – would be removed.
The ERA regulations say that any tree lost must be ‘compensated for’. The GHRC said that 12 new Judas trees and 18 tamarisk trees would be placed there – but in new planters, rather than in the pavement itself, complete with a new irrigation system.
“Species were selected which are suitable for such a harsh environment. These species are both indigenous and have an added benefit of having a limited root structure so as to limit inconvenience,” it added.
“The new tree pits have also been designed of suitable size and with a specific root barrier to preserve integrity of both bastions and road.”
The project will take one week from start to finish.