Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1533342
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 MARCH 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Find out more: STRENGTHENING COMPANIES IN EUROPE NextGenerationEU makes us stronger. Together, we are ensuring that European companies can prosper and create jobs. With NextGenerationEU, we are supporting small businesses to innovate and expand. Plans for 136-metre Blue Lagoon pier abandoned INFRASTRUCTURE Malta has with- drawn an application proposing the con- struction of a 136-metre pier at the Blue Lagoon. Plans submitted in 2020 envisaged the extension of the existing pier along the foreshore, as well as the removal of ex- isting concrete walkways. The extended wooden-decked pier was to rest on piles embedded in the seabed. Similar plans had been proposed and later abandoned by the Gozo Ministry in 2018. The pier was proposed as a means of enhancing passenger safety by provid- ing a smooth, level surface for accessing the ferries, while also removing the ex- isting concrete walkways and restoring the shoreline to its natural state. A project description statement pre- sented in 2020 referred to the difficul- ties faced by passengers disembarking from large ferries, described the current situation as a health and safety hazard, especially for those with mobility im- pairments. However, the pier was also expected to impact negatively on the environment. Furthermore, the statement noted that the pier would have enabled the mooring of larger ferries, along with an increase in visitor numbers, which could disrupt the protected or sensitive Natura 2000 habitats and species. After reviewing the photomontages presented by Transport Malta, the Su- perintendence for Cultural Heritage described the project as unacceptable from a cultural heritage perspective. The heritage watchdog expressed "grave concern at the inevitable formal- isation of the area, which will reduce this iconic location of picturesque nat- ural beauty to a poolside lido." Photomontage of the pier as proposed in 2020. Infrastructure Malta has now withdrawn the application Infrastruture Malta withdraws planning application for a pier at Comino