Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1124848
7 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 JUNE 2019 bil-partecipazzjoni ta' kontribut artistiku ta' 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16 Ġ U N J U F O R T I S A N T ' I E R M U Xi gralha Malta fis-VII Giugno? biljetti ta' €15 minn kultura.mt direzzjoni u muzika ta' T H E N E W V I C TO R I A N S JAMES DEBONO THE Fino furniture company's showroom and factory will rise to 19 storeys in the Mriehel in- dustrial area, in new plans for a six-block project. The company is prospecting two towers of 19- and 18-sto- reys, an 11- and nine-storey block, and two three-storey buildings towering above Mdi- na Road which will dwarf the neighbouring Farsons brew- ery. Rising above the major thoroughfare, the towers will face the Birkirkara residen- tial area behind the historical aqueduct. The higher towers will be set on a platform on Triq San Gw- akkin, therefore rising to 20 and 21 storeys, in an architec- tural design that will set them in the form of an upright boo- merang. Both will be built on two podium floors which are set to include retail areas vis- ible from the back road. From this angle the buildings will be rising to the maximum height of 86metres. The whole office complex will have a total floor area of 79,000sq.m, excluding two commercial floors and an underly- ing car park. The largest tower will in- clude a floor space of 35,000sq.m. A project d e v e l o p - ment state- ment from by the develop- ers in March estimated that t h e number of office workers re- quired for the project to be in the region of 8,000. But the PDS also warned that "the substantial num- ber of expatriate employees" which should be expected to be working in the offices and commercial fa- cilities is bound "to contribute to an increase in pressure for both new de- velopment and the re-devel- opment of existing properties in the Birkirkara, and possibly Balzan residential areas." The Environmental and Re- sources Authority has con- cluded that a full environment impact assessment is required for the project. Fino high-rise offices for 8,000 workers to create new housing demand Mriehel tower blocks will rise to 18 and 19 storeys in six-tower project