Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1244022
4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 MAY 2020 NEWS Maghtab incinerator to rise to 60 metres JAMES DEBONO THE national waste agency has presented a visual impact as- sessment of the waste-to-ener- gy facility proposed at Magħtab whose highest chimney will rise up to 60m above ground level, immediately next to the engi- neered landfill facility. It will surpass the height of the present 'mountain' which stands as a memory of the uncontrolled dumping of waste in the past. The highest chimney will be 102m tall – nearly as high as the Portomaso tower – but 42 meters will be located under ground lev- el. The visual impact study forms part of an outline planning appli- cation presented by Wasteserv to build the incinerator over 34,000 square metres of disused agricul- tural land in Magħtab. The new waste-to-energy plant includes ancillary facilities relat- ed to pollution abatement, cool- ing, and other supporting func- tions. The plans foresee a 20m-high water pump house, located near the Coast Road, with pumps and a chlorination compressor to handle the plant's cooling system. Magħtab was chosen after a site-selection study that consid- ered different locations, includ- ing sites near the Ta' Barkat sew- age treatment plant in Xgħajra, near the power station in Deli- mara and near the Sant Antnin recycling plant in Marsaskala. One important consideration was its proximity to sea water which can be used for the plant's cooling system. The area located on the eastern side of the Magħtab waste com- plex was identified as the most appropriate location, given that it is the one most distant from large settlements, and the one that would have the least impact in terms of ecological footprint and tree cover. An issue flagged in the report is the possible negative impact the incinerator's cooling system on the nearby marine environment. The discharge of warm water to the sea could impact the ex- tensive Posidonia meadows in the Bahar ic-Ċagħaq waters, with Wasteserv saying this had to be studied further. Cooling towers can be used to reduce the water's temperature to ambient water temperature before discharge. Posidonia meadows, also known as the lungs of the Med- iterrean, are a protected habitat according to EU law due to their importance in creating ideal hab- itats for marine life and in releas- ing oxygen. The report hints at "further consideration" to seawater in- takes and outlets, "so as to iden- tify options that are technically feasible, yet have the least possi- ble environmental impact". The project will cover area of five football grounds with a 60m chimney MASSIMO COSTA MALTA'S tourism industry is in dire straits and will require a ma- jor investment if it is to return to normal after COVID-19, PN MP Robert Arrigo has warned. The Nationalist Party's tour- ism spokesperson said the sector, which is now "dead", will need a €2 billion injection to restart. Arrigo criticised the govern- ment for only planning for the industry until June, and said the sector would need much more assistance. "The tourism sector has died, it is dead. The industry's economy is finished – it is in a frightening state," Arrigo, a tour- ism entrepreneur, said. "The government is only plan- ning till June. One can't only plan for three months when this sector normally plans things 12 months ahead," he said. Arrigo highlighted that the tour- ism sector – on which a whole ecosystem of jobs depended – had emerged for a hard winter where it has lost money, was now ex- pecting a summer of non-existent business, and would then head in- to another winter. The PN MP said Tourism Min- ister Julia Farrugia Portelli's pro- posal, for the establishment of safe travel corridors between EU countries which have managed to control the pandemic, was a "good idea", but that it was not concrete. Arrigo also called for Air Mal- ta to be safeguarded, underlining that, when the pandemic is over, the national carrier must be in a position to restart and must have pilots and crew members at the ready. He also urged the government to reinvest the money it has earned over the years from the aviation sector back into the industry. Many small businesses depend on tourism Edwin Vassallo, PN MP and spokesperson for the self-em- ployed, stressed that small busi- nesses depended to a large extent on tourism. "With the tourism sector com- pletely at a standstill, many small businesses have also ground to a halt," he said. He noted that tourism was a major factor for a wide variety of businesses, ranging from those in the laundry, security, clean- ing, printing, entertainment, food import, car rental, taxi and other sectors. "These hope to recover when the tourism and hospitality industry reopens," he added. Catering industry suffering unique challenges PN MP Hermann Schiavone, addressing the conference, said the catering industry, whose es- tablishments remained effectively closed to customers, were fac- ing their own unique challenges which were different than those faced by shops - several of which have now reopened as measures are relaxed. The party's catering and recre- ational industries spokesperson said the restaurant establishment was the worst hit by the corona- virus crisis. He called for the government to draw up a short, medium and long-term plan for the sector, to ensure that when health author- ities decided catering establish- ments should reopen, this was done "in an organised way, which safeguards the health of workers and customers, but which also re- tains their [social] attractiveness]." Schiavone moreover reiterated the PN's calls for a 50% reduction in utility bills for catering estab- lishments, for the Malta Tourism Authority to waive the annual ca- tering contribution this year, and for the government to keep sup- porting the salaries of workers in the sector. 'Dead' tourism sector needs €2 billion to revive – Robert Arrigo PN MPs Edwin Vassallo, Robert Arrigo and Hermann Schiavone addressed a press conference on Tuesday afternoon