Ġnejna piers could intensify boat activity in Natura 2000 bay

Transport Malta wants to reconstruct 18 dilapidated concrete piers at Mġarr’s Ġnejna bay, despite concerns by the Environment and Resources Authority

Transport Malta wants to reconstruct 18 dilapidated concrete piers at Mġarr’s Ġnejna bay, despite concerns by the Environment and Resources Authority.

The ERA says the works will result in further formalisation of the site and intensify its physical development, calling for further studies.

The existing piers have already transformed the natural coastline into incongruous hard-landscaped and developed land, which have resulted in considerable deterioration of the site’s coastal environment and its surroundings.

TM’s plans will require physical interventions to the coast and marine environment, which are not considered favourably from an environmental point of view, given the bay’s sensitive context. Ġnejna Bay forms part of the Natura 2000 network as the site is scheduled as a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area.

TM says the current structures are unserviceable and should be replaced by a safe and reliable structural design. It said Ġnejna Bay is a “very important” port for fishing boats and that a certain number of moorings are used mostly between May and September by local small boat owners.

The concrete platforms are located next to the boathouses carved into the protected coastline decades ago.

The piers need repair because they are exposed to northern to western winds causing recurrent wave battering, which damaged and eroded their structure. If approved, works will start after summer.

Some of the piers, proposed to be longer than the existing ones, will require new foundations on the seabed. Existing concrete dilapidated structures will be removed by breaking them down into smaller fragments.

One of the risks of the project is that it would attract more boats to the area, further disturbing the views of the Ġnejna Bay.