Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/835410
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 JUNE 2017 7 News JAMES DEBONO A report by the Environment and Resources Authority drafted in April has warned that the risk of subsidence in the large subterra- nean cavern at Harq Hamiem, just off St George's Bay, posed by high- rise development remains unclear, and further studies are needed to establish the impact of vibrations on the geology of the area. "The project may lead to subsid- ence of the roof on the large sub- terranean cavern at Harq Hami- em," a screening report by the ERA on the proposed developed on the former Institute of Tourism Stud- ies site said, adding that "the risk of subsidence on the large subter- ranean cavern at Harq Hamiem is currently unclear". The ITS site will be developed by the db Group after securing a gov- ernment concession for the land. The proposed development in- cludes a 5-star hotel with 455 rooms, 158 residences, commer- cial office space, shopping mall, casino and restaurants and a base- ment car park. But according to the ERA, fur- ther studies on geomorphology, hydrogeology, water quality and cave ecology are required in a forthcoming Environment Impact Assessment. According to a project develop- ment statement presented by the developers, plans have already been modified to protect the caves by pushing the hotel more to the east, with the western wing of the original proposal completely re- moved, in order to avoid "impos- ing excessive loading in the area of Ghar Harq Hamiem", which is located on the western part of the site. The ERA report notes that the proposal is partially located above the Harq Hamiem cave system, a scheduled Level 1 Area of Ecologi- cal Importance and Site of Scien- tific Importance The development, located in St George's Bay, will cover a total site area of 23,975 sq.m with a total gross floor area of 115,352 sq.m and split into three areas. Site A, measuring 5,536 sq.m, currently an open site, is earmarked for car parks. Site B, measuring 18,202 sq.m, which is the area around and in- cluding the current ITS building, will include the residential tower, shopping complex, hotel, and sur- rounding amenities such as con- ference facilities, restaurants, Hard Rock Café, nightclub, casino, spa and fitness facilities, public plaza, swimming pools and a wedding re- ception hall. Site C, measuring 237 sq.m, is a small site located next to the coast and adjacent to the Marina San Gorg Hotel. This will include a lido Struc- ture for the provision of amenities (food prepared off site, umbrellas and sunbeds). The Harq Hamien cave The cave is the only known fully submerged terrestrial cavern in the Maltese islands and is inhab- ited by the rare albino shrimp. Any proposed development in the buffer zone of the cave has to be assessed in terms of their po- tential impact on the "stability and geology of Ghar Harq Hamiem". The original draft of the North Harbour Local Plan in 1999 identi- fied Moynihan House as a site for a car park, but the project was aban- doned following a detailed study of Ghar Harq Hamiem, which re- vealed that the cave was far larger than originally thought. The cave was found to open up and the water in it reached a depth of 52 metres below sea level. The surface of the water was found to be at a depth of 16 metres below sea level. The studies led to the discov- ery of a passage connecting the first chamber to a deeper cham- ber closer to the tourism institute training school. The stability of Ghar Harq Hami- em is related to the thickness of its roof. "The roof is over 30 me- tres thick in the deeper chamber, which makes it relatively safe," ge- ologist Peter Gatt had told Malta- Today in 2016. According to Gatt the cave may have reached some form of equi- librium and could be "relatively stable". However, "further studies need to be carried out to assess the stability of the cave", he said, when asked whether the cave could be impacted by excavations in the area. Gatt pointed out that the extent of Ghar Harq Hamiem is known and the cave has been mapped. Gatt also insists that no excava- tion of rock should be carried out directly over the cave roof. Fate of Harq Hammiem cave still unclear The cave stretches from the valley behind Villa Rosa to the ITS building