Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1539671
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 SEPTEMBER 2025 NEWS INFRASTRUCTURE Malta has presented an application for the development of four underground parking lev- els providing 481 spaces on a 4,000sq.m plot of barren land at Smart City. A landscaped area with 33 olive trees is being proposed at street level. The area, identified as Plot M1, is earmarked as a public open space in a revised mas- terplan still under the con- sideration of the Planning Authority. Most of the area was already designated for infrastructural works in the original masterplan. The Planning Authority is still in the process of ap- proving a new masterplan for a project originally ap- proved as an ICT city. What was originally conceived as a Dubai-style plug-and-play internet city is now set to house 1,000 residential units, a hospital, the relocated ITS campus, the American Uni- versity of Malta, and a new private school. The Planning Authori- ty is also in the process of approving a new road link passing along the fortifica- tions and 5,600sq.m of agri- cultural land, linking Żabbar and Smart City. The Maltese government, which will fund the new parking, holds an 8% equity stake in Smart City Malta, which is mostly owned by the Dubai government. The government is contractually bound to develop the new road as well as to create 600 parking spaces under the agreement with Smart City signed in 2022. The carpark will be located on a triangular plot of land next to a plot designated as an "educational campus" in the new masterplan. THE Agriculture Advisory Com- mittee has called for compen- sation for the loss of cultivated land to a new link road between Żabbar and Kalkara. The committee chaired by James Gauci is an officially-ap- pointed panel tasked with advis- ing the Planning Authority on development applications affect- ing farmland. The committee reiterated its objection in principle to any de- velopment in outside develop- ment zones (ODZ) that does not directly serve agricultural pur- poses. However, should the project go ahead "in the national interest", the committee said it would rec- ommend approval only if com- pensation for the agricultural land lost is imposed. The panel suggested the com- pensation could take the form of replanting and maintaining an equivalent stretch of disused land, not arable land, with en- demic or local fruit tree varie- ties, such as olive trees. Trees should be planted at four-metre intervals, and the reclaimed site should remain accessible to the public. The Planning Authority is not obliged to accept the recom- mendations of the AAC even if its suggestions have to be con- sidered in its assessment of the project. 600 objections filed More than 600 objections have been filed with the Planning Au- thority against the project. Ac- tivist group Moviment Graffitti described it as a threat to Malta's rural and cultural fabric. Campaigners have highlighted the historical and architectur- al importance of the area that will be affected. The planned route runs close to Notre Dame Gate, the Cottonera bastions, the Capuchin Convent, and several scheduled structures. But Żabbar Mayor Jorge Grech told MaltaToday in an inter- view last month that the coun- cil agreed the road is necessary following discussions with the Kalkara council and the central authorities. He lamented that the project was presented by authorities in a bad way. "A two-kilometre road was described as 'a new road'; it's not the case. From 2,000 metres, 100 metres will be taken from agricultural land. The rest is al- ready open; not only that, it will be improved. There will be more trees, cycle lanes, and more se- cure roads. Right now, that area is laden with illegal dumping as it is dilapidated," Grech said. Justification for the new link Agricultural panel for farmland lost JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt New car park for 481 cars proposed at Smart City The creation of 600 new parking spaces was a contractual obligation for the Maltese government under the renegotiated agreement with Smart City, signed in 2022