Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1079163
4 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 FEBRUARY 2019 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The situation has developed into a crisis at a time when the construction industry is boom- ing, the sources said. "The limited space where to dispose of construction and excavation waste is leading to trucks forming queues out- side the few quarries as they wait their turn to discard their load," they added. But the situation is also leading to higher prices for the disposal of construction waste. One quar- ry last week informed contrac- tors of a 70% hike in fees for every tonne of construction debris. The quarry close to Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra prehistoric temples, which is operated by Tum Invest and V&C Con- tractors as La Cava Operations raised its rates to €12 per tonne from €7 per tonne for construc- tion waste and to €15 per tonne from €10 per tonne for demoli- tion waste. This quarry enjoys a quasi- monopoly in a situation where only a handful of licenced quar- ries are actually receiving waste. Sister newspaper Illum re- ported last Sunday that La Cava Operations could be making some €15 million per year as a result of the higher charges. The quarry was licenced to receive construction waste last summer in a record three days and is by far the largest one in operation. The exorbitant hike in prices raised eyebrows with Malta De- velopers' Association president Sandro Chetcuti telling Mal- taToday that the higher prices would have an impact on house prices. He also confirmed that "not more than two quarries were presently accepting building waste" despite the 32 licenced quarries. Chetcuti added that this was creating problems for the industry. He said the MDA was in talks with Environment Minister Jose Herrera to find a solution for the disposal of construction waste at a time when the indus- try was booming. Developers believe the only long-term solution is land rec- lamation from the sea. Herrera has so far held back from capping fees for the dumping of construction waste despite repeating the warning in an interview with TVM ear- lier this week. The higher fees are particu- larly problematic for smaller contractors, who would have agreed on set prices with devel- opers. Herrera has also refused to use the power given to him by the law to expropriate the space in quarries to be used for the disposal of construction waste. However, the latter option is opposed by industry operators and one that could be techni- cally unfeasible because waste disposal is a regulated opera- tion in its own right. "It is not as if the minister can take a quarry and start dump- ing construction waste in it be- cause there are strict EU rules on how this is done and how the waste should be clean and sorted accordingly," an indus- try source told MaltaToday. There are 32 quarries with permits to receive construction and excavation waste accord- ing to the Environment and Re- sources Authority website but most of these are still extracting stone and so unable to accept excavation waste. Others have problems of ac- cessibility and are unable to accommodate a large flow of trucks, while some are caught up in inheritance litigation. Another 18 quarries have pending applications in front of ERA. Handful of quarry operators enjoying a quasi-monopoly Disposing of building waste has become a problem at a time when the construction sector is booming