[WATCH] Large tunnel will take drinking water from Pembroke to Ta’ Qali

The Water Services Corporation promises better-tasting drinking water as it invests €27.5 million to build a tunnel that will enable ground water at the Ta’ Qali reservoirs to be blended with reverse osmosis water from Pembroke

A 9.5-kilometre tunnel will see water from the Pembroke reverse osmosis plant being pumped to the Ta’ Qali reservoirs in a massive undertaking for the Water Services Corporation.

The tunnel will carry a 1.2m-wide pipe that will transfer water from the plant so that it could be blended with groundwater at Ta’ Qali, to improve the quality of tap water in central Malta.

WSC CEO Richard Bilocca described this as “an important milestone” because the end result would mean improved water quality for consumers in the populous area between Sliema and Valletta.

Construction works on the tunnel will start soon after the planning permit is issued around October.

Bonnici Brothers won the €19.3 million tender for the construction work on the tunnel, while Turkish company Superlit Boru Sanayi won the €8.2 million bid to supply the pipe inside the tunnel.

Bilocca said the tunnel will be three metres wide and will run at a depth that varies from five metres to 70 metres.

He was speaking this morning, at the signing ceremony with the two companies at WSC headquarters.

“This is an engineering feat that forms part of a string of projects that are underway to help improve the water production and supply infrastructure for the years to come,” Bilocca said.

Energy Minister Joe Mizzi said the project that is co-financed by the EU, was an important development for a country that was embarking on a process to improve its infrastructure to meet present and future demands.

The WSC is currently investing €10 million to improve and expand the potable water network in the Siġġiewi-Qrendi area and upgrading its reverse osmosis plants to make them more energy efficient.

The corporation is also in the process of building a reverse osmosis plant in Gozo.