Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has welcomed a decision by Malta's Planning Authority dismissing an application for a multi-storey garage complex alongside the Turkish cemetery in Marsa.

In a message to Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo,  Çavuşoğlu said the decision had been received 'with great pleasure'.

"The Turkish Cemetery is an important cultural and touristic site of Marsa and a symbol of the friendship between our nations. Thank you very much for your personal engagement on this matter," the minister wrote. 

In its decision during a fiery meeting on Wednesday, the PA Board turned down the application for a garage complex, saying it was too substantial to be built next to a Grade 1 scheduled monument.

The PA’s case officer had recommended the project for approval.

The Turkish embassy in Malta had previously expressed alarm over the development application.

“The construction of a massive block next to 19th-century architecture is completely incompatible with good urban design. It will overshadow the prominence and unique glory of the cemetery and destroy the visual integrity of the area,” Ambassador Kerem Ahmet Kiratli had said.

Considered as one of the architectural masterpieces of Maltese architect Emmanuele Luigi Galizia (1830-1907), the burial place was commissioned by the Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz I.

It was built between 1873-74.