Planning Authority issues permit for Bormla garden instead of AUM dormitory

The Planning Authority has issued the permit for the creation of a garden in Bormla where a dormitory for the American University of Malta was once planned.

Environment Minister Miriam Dalli told parliament the planning permit paves the way for the transformation of the area, which until now was an open-air car park.

The land had been taken back by the government from AUM as part of an exchange arrangement that saw the private university also give up its site in Zonqor Point, Marsaskala, for a plot of land at Smart City.

Dalli was speaking in parliament on Monday during the budget estimates debate for her ministry, which includes energy and the regeneration of the Grand Harbour.

The minister said over the past year, Project Green will have issued 22 tender calls for the creation or refurbishment of 22 open spaces. She added that Ambjent Malta planted 6,000 trees this year.

On enforcement related to waste separation, Dalli said the Environment and Resources Authority carried out “thousands” of inspections and dished out hundreds of fines to those who persisted in wrongdoing.

ERA also followed up on 4,300 new cases in the field of environment protection, which were either reported by the public or proactively investigated by its officials.

On the energy front, Dalli said the government has paid €58 million until October in feed-in tariffs to those who have solar panels connected to the grid. Last year, the government paid €60 million in a whole year.

She said the scheme to support households in the purchase of batteries to store energy generated by solar panels that was introduced in 2021 has seen an exponential rise in applicants.

In 2021, only 21 beneficiaries had applied for the battery scheme. On the contrary, this year the government received 1,856 applications.

Additionally, Dalli said the government received 7,500 applications for the scheme that subsidises the expense on the installation of a reverse osmosis plant at home, thus contributing to less plastic generation.

Dalli said in the coming days government will announce plans to invest in floating wind turbines within Malta’s Exclusive Economic Zone. She described this as “an important project” and necessary to achieve the milestone of climate neutrality by 2050.