Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/188841
News maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 9 OCTOBER 2013 The aim of the project is to upgrade the area and open it up to the public after the demolition of Fekruna restaurant Fekruna Bay to be reclaimed for the public JAMES DEBONO AFTER years of denied access and protests by residents and environmen- AT RE ! G WS NE talists, the Fekruna restaurant in St Paul's Bay is set for demolition, with the area to be reclaimed as a public space. Plans for an upgrade of the area – Subscribe to the MaltaToday e-paper and save over 50% Read the MaltaToday and MaltaToday midweek at 5am on the morning of publication on your Desktop, Tablet or Smartphone Trade gap widens by €55.2 million in August 2013 TIM ATTARD MONTALTO Subscribe now to benefit from our special introductory offer! With an annual subscription you will get a FREE copy of your choice between Saviour Balzan's 'Saying It As It Is' or 'GourmetToday 100 best recipes' worth over €20. PROVISIONAL data for inter- *Offer is on a first come first served basis and is subject to availability. *Books must be collected from the MediaToday offices Subscription options 1 edition: 3 months: 6 months: 12 months: covering 2,750 square meters of land – have been presented by the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure. The aim of the project is to upgrade the area and to open it up to the public after the demolition of the Fekruna restaurant. The project includes a belvedere, a soft landscaped area, timber benches, the planting of tamarisk trees and a concrete deck. In November 2010 Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) has issued an enforcement order on the derelict site of the Mare D'Oro restaurant in the picturesque Fekruna Bay in St Paul's Bay. According to MEPA, the abandoned building is now an eyesore riddled with dangerous structures, and is openly accessible to everyone as its apertures have been broken. Fekruna Bay had been earmarked for villa development in the 1988 temporary provision scheme, but was scheduled by MEPA in 1996. The Mare D'Oro restaurant's lido itself was the site of protests by residents and Alternattiva Demokratika, who wanted free public access to Fekruna Bay in the 1990s. The authority had consequently refused an application by Mare D'Oro owner Raymond Vella to build two villas in the bay in 1998. Vella had presented another application in 2003 for the demolition of existing Mare d'Oro structure and the construction of residential units. The application was never approved. €0.80 €15.00 MaltaToday and MaltaToday Midweek €28.00 MaltaToday and MaltaToday Midweek €50.00 + FREE BOOK *best value* Subscribe now at www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/maltatodayepaper national trade show that the visible trade gap in August stood at €164.6 million, up by €55.2 million from last year. According to the National Statisics Office, imports decreased by €102.5 million, while exports also decreased by €157.7 million. There were also decreases in manufactured articles, semi-manufactured goods, beverages, tobacco, and animal and vegetable oils and fats, amongst other goods. In the first eight months of this year, the visible trade gap narrowed by €101.3 million, to €1,307.3 million. A decrease in imports of €508.6 million was mainly due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials. Other decreases were recorded for the major commodity groups. Exports for the same period registered a decrease in value of €407.3 million, primarily due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials. A substantial amount of Malta's trade flows and consequent trade deficit continued to be directed towards the European Union. Increases were registered in imports from Greece and the Netherlands, while there were decreases from Italy, Spain, the UK, France and Germany. Exports to the euro states declined, mainly to France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain, while increases in exports were recorded for Greece, Singapore, Libya, Russia and India.