Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1543144
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 FEBRUARY 2026 NEWS CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 MaltaToday headed down to the area to gauge what business owners and residents had to say. Two years of mounting problems While the assault marked a troubling turning point, people who frequent, live and work in the area say the problems have been building for months, and in some cases years. Complaints have ranged from excessive noise and street fights to van- dalism and unauthorised entry into residential blocks. People in the area said the area in front of the Plaza Shopping Centre has become a meeting spot for teenagers and young people. On Friday and Satur- day evenings, groups number at least 50 to 70 individuals. Several people who spoke to MaltaToday on condition of an- onymity to protect their identi- ty, described frequent shouting, fighting and disruptive behav- iour late into the night, with the inconvenience becoming un- bearable especially for residents. "It's not the first time that you see a resident shouting from their balcony for them to stop," an individual said. "Something has to be done." While the presence of police officers, after calls are made to the police station, seem to help the situation, once they leave, the commotion starts again. Libyan youths taking things too far But among the larger group of teens, a small group of youths are looking to push the limits. Residents in the area spoke of a group of boys, believed to be of Libyan nationality, who are con- tinuously harassing passers-by, people who live in adjacent apartment blocks and even their fellow teens. Individuals among the group are also believed to be those who assaulted Adrian Delia's son. The group have caused damage to parked cars, vandalised prop- erties and even threw stones at attendees of a free event for the community held by the Plaza management. A person who had attended the community event explained that this same group of teenagers had claimed that a man present was taking a photo of their sister, accusing him of paedophilia. When asked to substantiate their claims, the teens became confrontational with staff, and started to change their version of events. They only left the ar- ea when police were called in by the shopping centre's manage- ment. On another occasion, the group was seen hurling stones at people, with the police having Residents, businesses During daytime Bisazza Street is a place for shoppers, office workers and residents CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 Abela writesthat following a six-week pub- lic consultation process, a pre-market con- sultation targeting the site of the former power station in Marsa will take place. This will constitute the first phase of the ambitious project that targets key public areas in Marsa and Floriana. The Grand Harbour revival plan seeks to trans- form the inner part of the Grand Harbour, once home to the coal depot, a polluting power station and industrial quayside activity, into a mixed-use development of open spaces, commercial estab- lishments, restaurants, a yacht marina, gardens and pedestrian promenades. International design firm Chapman Taylor, known for global projects such as The Mall of Qatar and MediaCityUK in Manchester, were engaged in planning and visualising the revival of the location. "I have always believed that Marsa has enor- mous potential to become one of the most beau- tiful zones in Malta. That is what the people who live in Marsa deserve, and that is what we will give them," Abela writes. The latest plans are the third such attempt by the Labour administration since 2013 to regener- ate the inner part of the Grand Harbour, known locally as Il-Menqa. The Marsa power station was shut down and dismantled when the Electrogas power plant in Delimara was built, giving resi- dents reprieve from the fumes. But that is as far as things got. In 2017, the government, through Projects Mal- ta, had launched an expression of interest for the regeneration of Il-Menqa. It had to be followed up by a request for proposals but nothing came of the plans. A second attempt was made in 2021 when Ian Borg, then in the role of infrastructure minister, unveiled a bold, futuristic vision for regenerating the Grand Harbour. The plans, laid out in a 76-page document, cov- ered the coastline from beneath Fort St Elmo in Valletta all the way around to Fort Ricasoli in Kalkara and included restoration of fortifications and a tourist trail. They also envisaged a yacht marina at Il-Menqa. However, the bold vision never materialised and today, the third iteration of the Grand Harbour's regeneration under a Labour government has been unveiled. Indeed, the first ambitious plan that sought to develop a holistic transformation of the port was unveiled by then minister Austin Gatt in 2007 on the eve of the general election. The plans includ- ed the transformation of several spaces all around the Grand Harbour in what had to be a compre- hensive investment worth almost €300 million. The holistic vision was never executed but stan- dalone projects such as the transformation of Vil- la Bighi in Kalkara into the Esplora Science Cen- tre did happen in subsequent years. But what was ostensibly the first proposal for re- generating Marsa's Il-Menqa, came in 2003 when then Labour candidate Alfred Mifsud, a financial services practitioner and former chairman of Mid Med Bank, had unveiled a personal plan to trans- form the Marsa power station site and its envi- rons into a modern business district. The Marsa area of the Grand Harbour has long intrigued politicians and planners as a potential place for regeneration but so far residents have only seen plans, visions and glitzy presentations. They can only hope that the latest commitment does deliver results. 'I have always believed that Marsa has enormous potential,' Abela says The latest plans to regenerate the inner parts of the Grand Harbour were drawn up with the help of international design firm Chapman Taylor and they foresee a yacht marina at Il-Menqa among other projects An artist's impression taken from the 2021 plans unveiled by then infrastructure minister Ian Borg for the regeneration of the Grand Harbour