Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/591015
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 OCTOBER 2015 12 News Mriehel Towers will bring 1,362 more cars on Mdina Road JAMES DEBONO THE erection of four high-rise tow- ers at Mriehel is expected to result in a daily increase of 1,362 cars a day passing from Triq l-Imdina, ac- cording to the Environment Impact Statement on the impact of the pro- posed towers by Tumas and Gasan Groups. The study shows that in the ab- sence of the project, a daily average of 12,995 cars would pass daily along the eastern part of Mdina Road in 2019. This would increase to a daily 14,357 if the project is approved, an increase of 10%. Traffic is set to increase by 4% on the west part of Mdina Road and by a staggering 20% along Triq il- Merghat. Despite the considerable increase in cars brought about by the project, studies concluded that there would be a "negligible" increase in fine dust particles and in nitrogen dioxide. The project is to include a 975 sq.m supermarket, an 840 sq.m gym, a 700 sq.m showroom, 1,155 square metres of retail facilities, 930 square metres for conference facilities and an additional 1,000 square metres for retail. It will also provide 1,065 car park- ing spaces occupying a massive 38,750 square-metre floor-space over five basement levels. The access by cars to the site will be from a new service road to be created within the site, along the southern boundary, and adjacent to Dawret l-Imriehel. This new road will link the exist- ing service road on either side of the site, which extends the length of the southern boundary of the Mriehel industrial area. A separate service access will be provided off Triq L- Esportaturi. The development will in total in- clude four tower blocks of 15, 17, 19, and 14 storeys respectively, or- ganised around a central piazza, and sitting on top of five basement levels. Elevated walkways and bridges will connect the four towers. Mriehel was originally not included among the locations where high-rise development can take place in a draft high-rise policy document issued for public consultation, and was in- cluded in the final document in the absence of any consultation. Offices for financial services The Tumas and Gasan groups want to target companies operating primarily within the financial serv- ices sector that want to have their offices in the four towers, apart from providing a massive supermarket, a childcare centre and retail shops. Plans earmark a floor space of 33,000 square metres for office space. One of the advantages of the Mrie- hel location is that the towers are in very close proximity to the Malta Fi- nancial Services Authority, as well as the headquarters of the main banks (Bank of Valletta and HSBC) and audit firms Deloitte and Pricewater- houseCoopers. The environmental impact state- ment (EIS) claims that the finan- cial services sector is generating a number of new employment oppor- tunities due to the development of Malta as a reputable financial juris- diction, and that there is a demand for appropriate, quality accommo- dation to facilitate expansion of the sector: "The scheme is proposed in direct response to the demand for new commercial office space." The project is claimed will result in the creation of up to approximately 2,635 jobs. Impact on landscape Photomontages presented in the EIS indicate that the project will have little impact on views from Mdina. This was a major concern because Mriehel stands in the line of vision between Mdina and Val- letta. Seen from il-Pjazza tas-Sur bastions in Mdina, the project re- sults in a "barely noticeable change" and does "not break the skyline", the study concludes. But the study fails to assess the impact of the project of views to Mdina from other localities which are in the same line of vision. Moreover the impact on land- scape character is considered to be of "major significance" in relation to the character of the urban con- urbation of central Malta, which includes densely populated towns like Birkirkara and Qormi: "The scheme will introduce a new fea- ture to this landscape, which will contribute to the dense effect that the existing urban conurbation al- ready exhibits." The impact on visual amenity is considered to be of major signifi- cance in relation to one view from Triq il-Hofor, to the southwest of the Scheme Site. The existing view from this pathway, with rub- ble walls flanking fields, is of a rural scene; the buildings from the Mrie- hel industrial area serve as a back- drop to the view. The scheme will affect a significant change to the view since it will interrupt the exist- ing, relatively uniform height of the buildings in the backdrop. Construction waste The project will create a massive 166,900 cubic metres of construc- tion waste, which will be excavat- ed. Due to its clay content, there is limited potential for the excavated rock to be reused as building stone, either on or off-site. But the EIS suggests that the material to be used as fill, in the restoration of exhausted quarries, and for the res- toration of the quarries for agricul- tural use, since the material retains humidity. The EIS warns that that 'any wa- ter coming into the site will make excavation conditions somewhat awkward and possibly difficult'. But a geotechnical report, has ascer- tained that the ground water level is much lower than the proposed excavation level. "However, if water percolates into the site, the con- tractor will have the responsibil- ity of pumping it out, by means of bowser," the study states. Energy and water use The project will have an estimated annual electricity consumption of approximately 7,000 megawatt- hours – the equivalent to the average consumption of 1,500 people. Photovoltaic panels installed on site are envisaged will produce ap- proximately 70,000 kWh of electric- ity to be consumed by the project. Enemalta has advised the develop- ers that the existing 11KV system, which currently serves the Mriehel industrial area is not sufficient to ab- sorb any significant additional load. Enemalta is currently seeking to ad- dress this through the installation of a new distribution centre in the area, and has confirmed that this will be available to supply the project by June 2019, when it is envisaged that the project will come into operation. The project has been designed to incorporate a number of environ- mental control systems, and the development will be LEED (Gold Standard) certified. The design of the project will maximise passive heat ventilation and natural lighting The daily water consumption at full occupation is estimated to be 109,600 litres, but rainwater falling on roofs, bridges, walkways and open ground will be collected and reused, while water-saving devices will be in- stalled throughout the complex and collected rainwater as grey water for flushings. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Mriehel Towers in numbers Daily traffic 14,357 cars Total storeys 65 across four towers Floor-space 33,000 square metres Parking 38,000 square metres over five floors Construction waste 166,900 cubic metres Energy consumption 7,000MWh per year Water consumption 109,600 litres daily