The Planning Authority’s board on Thursday approved plans for a Eurospin supermarket off Aldo Moro Road in Marsa, on the site of the Salv Bezzina & Sons shipyard.

This will be the first supermarket for the Italian franchise in Malta.

The board gave its green light for the demolition of the existing industrial complex and its replacement with a supermarket, parking area and ancillary facilities spread over a total area of more than 7,600 square metres. The actual supermarket retail space will cover approximately 1,400 square metres.

A total of 150 parking spaces will be provided as part of the project on the ground floor, while the supermarket will be situated on the first floor. The proposal also includes the installation of illuminated signs along the facades overlooking Aldo Moro Road, two of which will bear the company logo.

A sign bearing the Eurospin logo will also be placed at the edge of the parking area overlooking Aldo Moro Road.

The new Italian franchise coming to Malta. Photo: Shutterstock

The complex will have two entrances: one on Labour Avenue which will be used solely for loading and unloading and through the service road off Aldo Moro Road, which will be used by supermarket customers.  

Architect Adrian Falzon, for the applicant, explained that according to the existing policy, the maximum height for the area is up to six storeys overlooking Aldo Moro Road.  

The Traffic Impact Assessment found that there were no envisaged significant impacts resulting from the expected traffic generation on the junctions studied. It also found that the access layout as proposed was adequate for the expected trip generation and distribution.

Established in 1993, the franchise operates 1,220 supermarkets in Italy.  Malta would be its third overseas market since the franchise operates almost 80 supermarkets in Slovenia and Croatia.