Sewage gallery ‘may collapse’ under Mriehel towers

The Water Services Corporation has asked for a €770,000 bank guarantee from the Tumas and Gasan group, aimed at safeguarding the structural stability of the sewer gallery which lies beneath the land where a four-tower project has been proposed.

The proposed development in Mriehel is composed of four tower blocks – North Tower, South Tower, East Tower and West Tower – comprising 16, 18, 20 and 14 storeys, respectively, sitting on top of five basement levels.

The WSC has also asked for the submission of a “contingency plan” for the deviation of sewage in case the gallery collapses during the works and has to be reconstructed.

The WSC is insisting that if this happens the developer would have to pay for the reconstruction.

In 2010 the Planning Authority decreed that any development in Mriehel located above the underground sewer gallery had to be to the satisfaction of the WSC. The Planning Authority also imposed a condition on development in the area to ensure unobstructed access to the shafts of the underground sewerage gallery.

Tumas and Gasan Holdings will be investing €70 million in the proposed Mriehel Towers.

Mriehel was not included among the localities that will be considered for high-rise buildings of over 10 storeys, when a policy regulating building heights was first issued for public consultation in November 2013. The inclusion of the area has attracted criticism from environmental groups, as well as planning ombudsman David Pace.

The project will include 39,915 square metres of office space, 1,060 square metres of retail space, a 790 square metre show room, a 1,735 square metre gymnasium and day care centre, a 1,225 square metre supermarket and 33,831 square metres of parking spaces catering for 1,032 cars.  The towers are to be organised around a central plaza. The project will include elevated, landscaped walkways and public spaces connecting the towers at Levels 2, 3 and 4. The towers will also have open air terraces on the other levels.

The southern part of the development site is already committed for a multi-storey commercial complex, including a showroom, offices and car parking provision. A development permit was granted to the same applicant for a five-storey development in July 2010.

A Project Development Statement presented by the developers’ consultants estimates that the proposal at full operation shall be consuming 7,000,000 kWh in terms of electricity and 109,600 litres in terms of water.

Excavations will result in 143,000 cubic metres of construction waste. The material is not expected to be of good quality due to its clay content, and therefore cannot be re-used.

The development will result in an increase of 2,800 employees frequenting this site. This may increase traffic and emissions in the area.