Urban greening project GreenServ to invest €4 million in 3-town plan

Three Maltese urban centres will benefit from a green areas with a difference under a multi-million euro investment announced today.

€4 million from the National Development and Social Fund and the individual investor program will be invested in three Maltese towns as part of infrastructural and urban greening projects, the Ministry for The Environment, Climate Change and Planning, together with the Parliamentary Secretariat for Citizenship and Communities have announced.

Minister Aaron Farrugia announced the investment this morning, saying that his ministry was “taking the green and ecological transition of our country to the next level.” Farrugia explained that three projects, in Hamrun ,Qormi and Mosta would be transforming main roads into “green lungs.”

Farrugia also announced the setting up of GreenServ, a division of Wasteserv, which will be entrusted with carrying out infrastructural and ecological projects “in the least possible time and to the highest possible standards.”

The Government was also carrying out roofing works on the Santa Venera tunnels which, Farrugia said, would combat traffic pollution whilst at the same time implementing a “new concept of garden” on top of one of the busiest roads on the island.

“This is about giving back to the people a green way of life that in some areas has been taken away from them in the name of progress. We are committed to improved environmental wellbeing, that through such innovative projects can still go hand in hand with Malta’s continuous economic advancements”, said the minister.

WasteServ was expanding its operations into the realm of project implementation, said Farrugia, explaining how this will start transforming urban centres into “green areas with a difference.”

“This is about giving back the people a green way of life that in some areas has been taken away from them in the name of progress. We are committed to improved environmental wellbeing, that through such innovative projects can still go hand in hand with Malta’s continuous economic advancements”, Farrugia said.

In what the ministry said would be “a much shorter project delivery timeframe,” through the GreenServ arm, the market would be consulted on the three urban greening projects which will serve as a blueprint for larger ones in years to come.

These three projects, which are expected to cost around €4 million, are being heralded as “introducing a new concept of urban living.”

“We strongly believe in the importance of green and blue infrastructure, whose main components are water management, climate adaptation, less heat stress, more biodiversity, better air quality, sustainable energy production and healthy soils. For this reason, we have conducted an unprecedented investment in environmental projects under this concept within three urban areas, with an investment of more than €1 million per locality, to further provide better quality of life for our communities”, stated Parliamentary Secretary Alex Muscat.

“An area in Mosta which is not currently accessible to the public is being considered for this project.

This same area will be regenerated so that it is open to the public and can be enjoyed by both residents and all those who come to visit”, he continued.