Birzebbuga action group rallies against Freeport quay extension

The Birżebbuġa local council and Birżebbuġa Environmental Action Group have requested the repeal of the permit to extend the existing terminal (1 West Quay), the dredge fairway and berth quay of the Malta Freeport.

“We do not want to meddle with economic progress but we have to make sure that our residents’ interests are safeguarded,” mayor Joseph Farrugia said. The impacts on the community following this extension include sound, light and noise pollution during the night and heavy sea impacts, the mayor added.

Architect Carmel Cacopardo, Alternattiva Demokratika's spokesperson for sustainable development, brought forward four justifications asto why this permit should be revoked. “Whilst MEPA is obliged to meet up in public and consult with the public, it decided to meet behind closed doors, ignoring the public’s interest,” Cacopardo said referring to the application.

Marsaxlokk bay's local plan establishes the Freeport site at Wied il-Buni as a buffer zone, to protect any leisure activity along the sea from the activities of the Freeport. The same policy stipulates that the buffer zone is a public open space. “The buffer zone is 350 metres long. With the extension of the terminal, it will be shortened to 200m,” the secretary for the environmentalists group, John Grech said.

The third justification brought forward was that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should have been carried out to measure the development's impact on sports facilities in the bay area. The local plan's policy imposes on MEPA the duty to assess the proposed benefits of development and contrast these with the disadvantages, the protestors said. "The applicants should have also made an effort to identify a suitable alternative site... The extension has well overlapped the zone used by the sailing club,” Cacopardo said.

He explained that the MEPA board also ignored a policy to assess developments vis-a-vis air and water quality, and noise reduction criteria. “These environmental requirements must be adhered to before any development permit is issued by MEPA,” Cacopardo said, explaining that the board instead opted to establish the criteria after the permit was issued.

John Grech said that whilst in 2009 the permit did not go through “because [MEPA chairman] Austin Walker felt that he was not competent enough to take such a decision,” the same plan was given a permit on January of this year, without any changes taking place.

With the extension of the terminal, towards the land, the sea depth which is currently that of 9.5m, will be deepened to 17m.  A berm (akin to a mountain underwater) would be artificially created, so that turbulence created by the ships will not carry the sand out at sea. “The sea plant Posidonia oceanica, which is protected under EU directives, will be destroyed if the terminal extension takes place,” Grech said.