Ricasoli tank upgrade in doubt

James Debono

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority’s board will be meeting tomorrow to decide on whether to approve an application to upgrade the existing Ricasoli Port Cleaning Facility, which is located in the ditch of the historical Ricasoli fort.

A 30-year concession agreement was signed with Ricasoli Port Facility Limited, which is owned by Falzon Waste Oils, in January 2013.

In a case officer report, the Planning Directorate – MEPA’s technical arm – is recommending the refusal of this application because the present local plan still seeks the long term relocation of the tank cleaning facility and discourages further investment on the present site.

The application is meant to improve safety and environmental standards, especially with regard to the discharge of waste water into the sea.  Ricasoli has been used for tank cleaning  since 1965.

The previous administration claimed that attempts to relocate the tank facilities had failed.

MEPA’s own Local Planning Unit noted that although the local plan envisages the relocation of the tank cleaning facility “there are considerable difficulties with the relocation” and this long-term objective may not be achievable.

The facility is located in Fort Ricasoli, a Grade 1 historical monument. The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage warned that the development may have “an adverse impact” on its heritage value and called for a proper assessment of photomontages of the proposed development.

MEPA’s internal heritage panel; the Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee has called for the resiting of the tank cleaning facilities to a less sensitive site but it also called on the authorities to establish whether the relocation of the facilities is feasible or not.

The proposed development includes the construction of a new boiler house instead of the existing one, the refurbishment of the tank, the relocation of a fresh water tank, the creation of spill containment areas and the upgrading of pipe works.

How government had issued a 30-year concession

The 30-year concession agreement was signed between the government and Ricasoli Port Facility Ltd two months before the general election.

Waste Oils Company Limited, the parent company of Ricasoli Port Facility Limited, was the only company to submit a tender for the operation of the Ricasoli tank cleaning facility. Falzon Group Holdings Ltd owns Waste Oils Company Limited.

The tender conditions specified the company must be already in possession of an environmental permit to operate such an installation.

The tender was issued in 2012 just a few days after the Malta Environment and Planning Authority issued a four-year Integrated Pollution Prevention Control permit to Falzon Waste Oils, for the operation of Waste Oils in Il-Menqa tal-Braken in Marsa.  

The tender also specified that the bidder must have managed a hazardous management installation or a port reception facility for ship-generated waste for a period of at least 10 years. Falzon Waste Oils is also one of the few Maltese companies, which has run a hazardous waste facility for over 10 years.

A report by MIMCOL on Grand Harbour regeneration issued before the 2008 election described the tank cleaning facility as “an eyesore”.

According to the report, the proximity of the tank cleaning facility to Fort Ricasoli also poses a health risk to the visiting public, “not to mention the environmental hazard this brings to the surrounding area, especially if future development is to take place in the area”.

Area Policies GK19 and General Policy GE07 of the Grand Harbour Plan both support measures to reduce the impact of the Ricasoli Tank Cleaning Installation and seek to pursue the long term removal of the installation altogether, should a suitable and feasible alternative site be found. 

But in 2012 a spokesperson for former Finance Minister Tonio Fenech insisted that the decision to issue the tender to retain the site for tank cleaning activities was taken after all attempts to relocate this activity failed.

In fact in December 2008, the Malta Maritime Authority had issued a Request for Proposals for the Provision of a Port Reception Facility for Ship Generated Waste Oils where the selected operator was requested to take over the responsibility for the operation of the Ricasoli facility for a temporary period; to build a new reception facility and transfer all operations from Ricasoli to a new site and to operate and manage the new facility.

Only one compliant bidder submitted a bid and the bidder was in a position to provide a new site, thus satisfying the government’s goal of relocating the tank cleaning facility from Ricasoli. 

“Unfortunately, however, the new site provided by the bidder failed to obtain MEPA approval for the operation of a tank cleaning facility,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance explained.

The spokesperson claimed that the government had no choice but to retain the present site due to its obligations under the IMO MARPOL Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. 

The convention obliges signatories to ensure suitable facilities for the reception of oily mixtures, dirty ballast and tank washings from ships visiting Maltese ports.