Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1393937
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 JULY 2021 NEWS JAMES DEBONO TRANSPORT Malta wants to reconstruct 18 dilapidated con- crete piers at Mġarr's Ġnejna bay, despite concerns by the Environment and Resources Authority. The EREA says the works will result in further formalisa- tion of the site and intensify its physical development, calling for further studies. The existing piers have al- ready transformed the natu- ral coastline into incongruous hard-landscaped and devel- oped land, which have resulted in considerable deterioration of the site's coastal environment and its surroundings. TM's plans will require phys- ical interventions to the coast and marine environment, which are not considered fa- vourably from an environmen- tal point of view, given the bay's sensitive context. Ġnejna Bay forms part of the Natura 2000 network as the site is scheduled as a Special Area of Conserva- tion and a Special Protection Area. TM says the current struc- tures are unserviceable and should be replaced by a safe and reliable structural design. It said Ġnejna Bay is a "very im- portant" port for fishing boats and that a certain number of moorings are used mostly be- tween May and September by local small boat owners. The concrete platforms are located next to the boathouses carved into the protected coast- line decades ago. The piers need repair because they are exposed to northern to western winds causing re- current wave battering, which damaged and eroded their structure. If approved, works will start after summer. Some of the piers, proposed to be longer than the existing ones, will require new founda- tions on the seabed. Existing concrete dilapidated structures will be removed by breaking them down into smaller frag- ments. One of the risks of the project is that it would attract more boats to the area, further dis- turbing the views of the Ġnejna Bay. Gnejna piers could intensify boat activity in Natura 2000 bay Transport Malta wants fishermen to have safer piers with plan to rebuild 18 concrete piers