Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1519405
ĦAL Farruġ residents were promised compensation five years ago by the government for the unsightly development of huge fuel tanks a mere 110m from their homes. Today, the families living in this hamlet on the outskirts of Luqa are still waiting for that promise and others to be fulfilled. Ħal Farruġ is situated just out- side the airport perimeter and is home to a few hundred people. The case concerns the construc- tion of three large steel tanks within the airport grounds for the storage of aviation fuel. Built in 2018, the tanks operated by Enemed, the State fuel com- pany, replaced a much smaller storage facility that was originally built in the 1930s. However, the new development came closer to the residential area and the height of the tanks overshadowed people's homes. According to the case officer's re- port from 2017, the tanks are ap- proximately 23m high, "around four times as much" as the struc- tures they eventually replaced. A safety report included with the planning application said the new jet fuel storage facility was to be made up of two tanks with a capacity of 4,977 cubic metres and a third tank with a volume of 4,567 cubic metres. Enemed now wants to build a "structure" to screen the large fuel tanks and has filed a plan- ning application. "To minimise the tanks' visual impact, Enemed has submitted a planning appli- cation… it is being processed," a company spokesperson told Mal- taToday. Documentation obtained from the Planning Authority website shows that the target date for a decision on this screening struc- ture is set for 31 May 2024. Enemed still seeking land for so- lar farm But in its replies to questions by this newspaper, Enemed said nothing about the monetary compensation that was promised to residents in 2019. At the time, Luqa Mayor John Schembri distributed a leaflet that included a commitment that Enemed would be offering com- pensation of €500 per year for 20 years to each family once it in- vests in a solar farm. The solar farm was never built, and residents have not received a cent in compensation with the local council washing its hands of the case. Replying to questions from this newspaper, Enemed said the ar- ea originally earmarked for the development of a solar farm was deemed unfeasible following site investigations. "Aware of the land limitations, Enemed is still seeking alterna- tive sites [for the solar farm] in an attempt to identify suitably sized land," the spokesperson said. To mitigate the impact on the community, Enemed is currently in talks to transform the site orig- inally identified for the solar farm into an adventure park. "The park will be funded by En- emed as part of its wider commu- nity outreach," the spokesperson added. Complaint filed with European Commission The story concerning the Ħal Farruġ community resurfaced re- cently when Nationalist MEP can- didate Peter Agius filed a complaint with the European Commis- sion on behalf of the residents. The residents have argued that the fuel tanks fall foul of EU standards as outlined in the Seveso III Directive that state such facilities should maintain a perimeter of 500m for safety. The houses are located just 110m away. The airport fuel facility is one of nine sites in Malta that are classi- fied under the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) as dictated by the Seveso Directive. It is classified as a lower tier es- tablishment for fuel storage and distribution with the last inspec- tion by the authorities having taken place in September 2023. The Enemed spokesperson said the fuel tanks were built accord- ing to international safety stand- ards and the facility is the "only site owned by Enemed that could be placed airside under the air- port's control". The company said it had been engaging with several author- ities since March 2015 before proceeding to file a planning 10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 APRIL 2024 NEWS KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt EEKhEDEdK&>>&KZWZK:dWZKWK^>^hEZ ZhZ>s>KWDEdWZK'ZDD;ZWͿ&KZD>dϮϬϭϰͲϮϬϮϮ dŚĞDŝŶŝƐƚƌLJƌĞƐƉŽŶƐŝďůĞĨŽƌƵƌŽƉĞĂŶ&ƵŶĚƐǁŽƵůĚůŝŬĞƚŽĂŶŶŽƵŶĐĞƚŚĂƚŝƚŝƐƌĞͲůĂƵŶĐŚŝŶŐƚŚĞĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐĐĂůůĨŽƌ ƉƌŽũĞĐƚƉƌŽƉŽƐĂůƐ͗ DĞĂƐƵƌĞϮ͘ϭ͗^ƵƉƉŽƌƚƚŽŚĞůƉďĞŶĞĨŝƚŝŶŐĨƌŽŵƚŚĞƵƐĞŽĨĂĚǀŝƐŽƌLJƐĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ;ĂŐƌŝĐƵůƚƵƌĞͿ dŚĞĐĂůůǁŝůůĐůŽƐĞŽŶ&ƌŝĚĂLJϮϰ ƚŚ DĂLJϮϬϮϰĂƚŶŽŽŶ͘ dŚĞĂƉƉůŝĐĂƚŝŽŶĨŽƌŵĨŽƌƚŚĞƐƵďŵŝƐƐŝŽŶŽĨƉƌŽũĞĐƚƉƌŽƉŽƐĂůƐĂŶĚƐƵƉƉŽƌƚŝŶŐĚŽĐƵŵĞŶƚĂƚŝŽŶĐĂŶďĞĚŽǁŶůŽĂĚĞĚŽŶ ŚƚƚƉƐ͗ͬͬĨŽŶĚŝ͘ĞƵͬǁŚĂƚͲĨƵŶĚŝŶŐͲŝƐͲĂǀĂŝůĂďůĞͬĂŶĚƐĞŶƚďLJĞŵĂŝůŽŶƌĚƐƵďŵŝƐƐŝŽŶƐ͘ŵĞĞƐΛŐŽǀ͘ŵƚ͘ WƌŽƐƉĞĐƚŝǀĞĂƉƉůŝĐĂŶƚƐĂƌĞĞŶĐŽƵƌĂŐĞĚƚŽƌĞĨĞƌƚŽƚŚĞDĞĂƐƵƌĞ'ƵŝĚĞůŝŶĞƐƚŽĐŽŶĨŝƌŵǁŚĞƚŚĞƌƚŚĞŝƌƉƌŽƉŽƐĂůƐĂƌĞ ĞůŝŐŝďůĞĨŽƌĨƵŶĚŝŶŐƚŚƌŽƵŐŚƚŚŝƐĐĂůůĨŽƌƉƌŽũĞĐƚƉƌŽƉŽƐĂůƐ͘ &ƵƌƚŚĞƌŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƚŝŽŶŽŶƚŚŝƐĐĂůůĂŶĚŽŶƚŚĞZWŵĂLJďĞŽďƚĂŝŶĞĚĨƌŽŵŚƚƚƉƐ͗ͬͬĨŽŶĚŝ͘ĞƵ͘ ŶLJƋƵĞƌLJƐŚŽƵůĚďĞƐĞŶƚďLJĞŵĂŝůŽŶĨŽŶĚŝ͘ĞƵΛŐŽǀ͘ŵƚŽƌŽŶƚĞůŶƵŵďĞƌ͗ϮϳϳϵϳϯϬϬ͘ ĚĞĚŝĐĂƚĞĚŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƚŝŽŶƐĞƐƐŝŽŶŝƐďĞŝŶŐŽƌŐĂŶŝƐĞĚŽŶdŚƵƌƐĚĂLJϮ ŶĚ DĂLJϮϬϮϰ–ϭϭ͗ϬϬĂƚdŚĞKĂŬƐƵƐŝŶĞƐƐĞŶƚƌĞ͘ &ĂƌƐŽŶƐ^ƚƌĞĞƚ͕,ĂŵƌƵŶ;DĂŶĂŐŝŶŐƵƚŚŽƌŝƚLJKĨĨŝĐĞͿ ZĞŐŝƐƚƌĂƚŝŽŶĨŽƌƚŚĞŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƚŝŽŶƐĞƐƐŝŽŶĐĂŶďĞĚŽŶĞďLJƐĐĂŶŶŝŶŐƚŚĞďĞůŽǁYZĐŽĚĞ͘ Hal Farrug: Unsightly fuel tanks, false The fuel tanks seen from a house nearby Peter Agius