Qormi gets new green lung with stormwater culvert turned into park

€1 million urban park will take the place of Qormi valley stormwater culvert 

 

The locality of Ħal Qormi will be benefitting from a new urban greening project through an investment of €1 million from the National Development and Social Fund (NDSF), the posterity fund financed by the sale of Maltese citizenship to the itinerant elites.

An agreement was signed Tuesady morning between the Lands Authority and GreenServ so that this project and others like it can be carried out. Present for the signing were environment minister Aaron Farrugia, economy minister Silvio Schembri, and parliamentary secretary for citizenship Alex Muscat.

The project will be transforming part of the stormwater culvert in Qormi into a space that can be enjoyed by the residents. Through the planting of trees and aromatic plants, a new space will be created to provide shade for the number of benches that will be installed.

A 200-meter running track will also be created, which will be around the perimeter and will be isolated from the road by the trees that will be planted. Accessibility will be facilitated both for residents who want to access the surrounding shops, as well as for cars to cross to Valley Road.

A small street-level car park will also be introduced which will increase the parking spaces in this area.

“This is another project led by GreenServ that will be creating an open and green space in an area synonymous with traffic with the aim of improving the quality of life for residents living in this urban area as well as promote sustainable lifestyles,” Aaron Farrugia said. “As in the first nine years of the present Government, the largest investment in the country was — as expected — in our country’s infrastructure. Now it is time for Government to inject an unprecedented investment into the greenification of our country — with the same intensity. The Budget that will be presented in the coming days should usher in this new era.”

Economy and Industry minister Silvio Schembri said that, for several years, Qormi residents had to face serious challenges whenever it rained heavily, some having siffered dire consequences when the water that was retained in the locality had entered their homes.

"For the past 10 years, I have worked to make a dream come true for these ‘Qriema’ who will now benefit from this amazing, recreational project, well-deserved by both this locality and its residents,” Schembri said.

"This is what we mean when we speak of an economy which will benefit all, an economy through which the successes we have achieved will enable us to invest in community projects for the benefit of the residents."

Parliamentary Secretary Alex Muscat said this was not an isolated project, but part of a series of projects that are being carried out through an NDSF investment. Over €4.5 million is being spent in greening projects in Hamrun, Mosta, Qormi and Żabbar. “Through this investment and collaboration with other entities, we are transforming spaces that were previously neglected or inaccessible, into spaces that can be enjoyed by all,” Alex Muscat said.