Marsaskala to get new park instead of shut recycling plant as excavation works tender is issued

Wasteserv has issued a tender for excavation and preparatory construction work on the site that housed the Sant’Antnin recycling plant in Marsaskala.

The waste agency plans to turn the 23,000sq.m site into a recreational park, returning the land back to residents. The transformation of the site into a public garden fulfils a Labour Party electoral pledge.

Most of the operations at the Marsaskala plant were shut down in December 2022 and the infrastructure has since been dismantled and sent for recycling abroad.

Wasteserv said on Friday the greening project will be the largest-ever it has undertaken.

The park will include a greenhouse with aquaponics facilities (Photo: Artist's impression, Wasteserv)

The tender covers various works, including the excavation of a three-storey car park and the creation of an artificial lake in what is being billed as a “green sanctuary”.

The parking facilities will be used to offer an electric park-and-ride facility for the locality and the park will also include three reservoirs to supply the project’s irrigation, collect storm water, and provide firefighting needs.

WasteServ said that 33% of the excavated material will be reused within the same site.

Meanwhile, preparations for the project’s second phase are ongoing. A tender for various other tasks — including soil delivery, planting mature trees, constructing and filling the lake and its wetland filtration system, building the greenhouse with aquaponics facilities, constructing the car park, and establishing the outdoor multipurpose space — is expected to be issued in the coming months.

A tender for the second phase of the project will be issued when excavation works near completion (Photo: Artist's impression, Wasteserv)

Wasteserv said that by the time the phase 2 tender is issued the excavation works should be nearing completion.

Environment Minister Miriam Dalli said this project tied in with the government’s greening mandate.

“Through this project, the government aims to rehabilitate a site previously associated with waste management into a nature park accessible to all for their enjoyment, similar to the rehabilitation of the landfills in Qortin in Gozo and Wied Fulija in Żurrieq,” she said.

Wasteserv CEO Richard Bilocca said the agency remains committed to advancing its green circular economy agenda, exemplified by its ongoing implementation of Malta's largest-ever investment in waste management infrastructure in Magħtab. The investment worth €500 million will see the construction of an incinerator at the Magħtab Ecohive complex and other waste recycling facilities.