Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/394213
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2014 News 2 Planned airport building development causing concern at Gudja council JAMES DEBONO THE planned huge development of three new high rise blocks by Malta International Airport has caused concern at Gudja local council, which has appointed architect and green party official Carmel Cacop- ardo as its consultant on the pro- posed airport buildings extension. The new blocks, which will rise up to seven floors, will be apart from the recently built Skyparks block and the foreseen impact of the de- velopment on the community is causing concern. Cacopardo, a former investiga- tor in the MEPA Audit Office, has in the past advised the Birzebbugia council on planning applications linked to the Freeport and the pow- er station. The council's executive secretary, Joseph Formosa, confirmed that Ca- copardo will be presenting a report on the impact the massive project is expected to have on the Gudja com- munity. "The impact on the Gudja com- munity is not just visual and has to be fully assessed before any decision is made on a project of such a scale on a small community," Cacopardo told MaltaToday when contacted. Cacopardo also insisted that the Gudja airport should be compared to smaller secondary airports in Eu- rope and not to major hubs, as sug- gested by the Environment Impact Study. According to the EIA the massive commercial development proposed by Malta International Airport will have an impact on long-distance open views of the area, and will af- fect the "context of the Gudja and Ghaxaq landscape" by altering the traditional setting of townscapes dominated by parish churches, as well as the rural setting, as the project is highly visible from a range of viewpoints. This is one of the main conclu- sions of an Environment Impact Assessment study of a master plan presented by the Malta Internation- al Airport for the project. A traffic impact study (TIS) car- ried out for the extension of com- mercial facilities at the Malta Inter- national Airport says three arms on Qormi Road and Triq Hal Farrug's roundabout junction will have to be widened to two lanes on each arm. The TIS foresees a dramatic in- crease of traffic on the Luqa arm of Aviation Road, from 18,665 cars a day in 2014, to 34,615 in 2029. If the project is not carried out the traffic along this road would increase to an annual average of 21,669. Traffic along Triq il-Kunsill tal- Ewropa is expected to increase from the current 21,647 to 32,368 in 2029 if the development takes place. If the project does not take place traf- fic would increase to 25,131. At Dawret il-Gudja, traffic will increase from 6,806 cars a day to 10,912 in 2029. The development is being pro- posed on a rectangular parcel of land forming part of the Malta In- ternational Airport complex, which has an area of over 130,000 square metres. The large existing centrally locat- ed car park will be roofed over, with the roof planned to accommodate an enormous 2,300m² supermar- ket. A massive seven-storey block set over a 3,200m² footprint will in- clude commercial and office space at ground level, including double height showrooms. And a new hotel development will be accommodated at higher floors of another 1,400m² block. Another block will consist of a commercial centre with a maxi- mum floor area of 2,500m² per floor. The complex will incorporate both commercial and office space at ground level, with double height showrooms. Another two-storey block will in- clude commercial facilities on two levels, each with a floor space of 7,000m². The existing fuel service station will be relocated to provide im- proved access to arterial routes. Moreover another block will in- corporate a recreational zone hav- ing a total area of 2,000m². This will replace the existing staff car park, which will be relocated to a separate area within the site boundary. Over 400 residences request assistance as October storm wreaks havoc OVER 400 calls for assistance were made to Enemalta by customers and the public to repair damage caused by the storms that hit Malta since Thursday evening, state en- ergy provider Enemalta said. The heavy rains, thundery weath- er and gale-force winds caused the diversion and delays of several flights, and flooding. Trees were uprooted while billboards, bound- ary walls, electricity poles, and boats were also damaged. The storms damaged overhead power lines, electricity poles and several street lights. Additional teams of distribution technicians were called in to assist in the re- pair works, which continued day and night throughout the weekend until Monday morning. Reports of damage causing supply disruptions and dangerous situations were giv- en priority. In some cases, repairs could not take place at night or during rough weather, to safeguard the techni- cians' safety. "In such situations customer care representatives, technicians, engineers and other Enemalta em- ployees are required to work under pressure and in difficult conditions to coordinate and complete repairs in the shortest time possible. Their efforts are commendable," Enemal- ta CEO Fredrick Azzopardi said. Enemalta reiterated its com- mitment to maintain the ongoing investment in its electricity gen- eration and distribution systems to continue improving reliability and security of supply to all customers. For assistance, customers should contact the company on 8007 2224 or customercare.emc@enemalta. com.mt Victor Scerri 'hit ball, not player', says football club Club president did not punch player in the face, club says THE Santa Lucia football club has denied that its president punched a footballer in the face during a foot- ball match on Saturday. According to a news report by in- ewsmalta, Santa Lucia FC president Victor Scerri – former president of the Nationalist Party and candidate for the 2013 general elections – punched the Marsascala footballer in the face, sending him flying. A video released by inewsmalta shows the footballer with the ball in hand and Scerri talking to him. A few seconds later, the footballer was lying on the ground. "Officials intervened during the game and Scerri shoved the ball out of the player's hands. At no point was there any contact with the per- son or the intention to do so. Only the ball was touched during an in- cident so trivial that it was not even mentioned in the match report," the football club said. There was no press communica- tion by Marsascala FC that one of its players had been hit and it was not included in the match report. Santa Lucia FC went on to point out that it is a football society with no political affiliations. www.gourmettoday.recipes Former Nationalist Party president Victor Scerri had allegedly punched a Marsascala footballer in the face