Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/941670
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2018 NEWS JAMES DEBONO THE Planning Directorate has issued a report recommending the approval of 20 new apart- ments; a maisonette, 2 offices and 11 garages instead of the abandoned cinema after the Su- perintendence for Cultural Her- itage noted the "advanced state of deterioration of the property." The property in question was constructed in 1946 and served as a very popular cinema. The building was constructed in the artdeco style, a prominent style commonly used for large civil buildings in the post war period. The Birzebbuga cinema has been abandoned for at least the past decade. The latest plans submitted by the developer in- clude the retention of a part of the old facade in the corner of the site after the Superintend- ence had called for the retention to retain some of the architec- tural features on the facade and to integrate them in the new de- sign. The apartments were already on sale on Maltapark.com since November. But according to the developer the apartments were being sold on condition that a permit is issued by the Planning Authority. Any loans issued by the banks were also conditional on a building permit. Din l-Art Helwa had objected to the demolition of the entire building and has called for the retention of the facade. Ruben Abela, a former chief executive of the Malta Environment and Resources Authority described any eventual approval of the development as "a loss for our modern architectural heritage." Lido cinema in Birzebbuga set for demolition Fate of the artdeco building to be decided by the Planning Commission on Friday The original Lido Cinema (Photo: Bay Retro) THE owners of the Hephaes- tus, the bunkering vessel which ran aground on Sunday, will be inspecting the vessel together with maritime authority offi- cials in the coming days, in or- der to plot a way forward for the retrieval of the vessel. The vessel was caught in the storm that engulfed the island last Saturday, and was driven aground by the Force 6 to 7 winds. "The company that owns the vessel contracted a salvor that has secured the vessel, surveyed it and is drawing up a plan to salvage the ship," said a spokes- person for Transport Malta. "The vessel owners are on their way to Malta and meetings will be held in the coming days to determine the way forward." Industry sources speaking to MaltaToday said that while the tanker appeared to have sus- tained some damage, it was un- clear how difficult it would be to salvage. Meanwhile, Transport Malta has reiterated that its priority is ensuring there were no pollu- tion risks "that could emanate from the vessel". It said that it was currently working with the police and the civil protection department "for any eventual- ity". In a statement on Sunday, Transport Malta's maritime pollution response team said that the 60-metre tanker, which is registered in Togo, was carry- ing four cubic metres of fuel but there was no risk of it seeping out. "The first priority is, of course, to avoid any possible environ- mental damage, thus as soon as the weather stabilises, the salvors will empty any remain- ing fuel on the vessel," said the spokesperson. Once the fuel has been re- moved, efforts will turn to re- moving the vessel from the rocks while also minimising the resulting damage. Decision on tanker that ran aground to be taken in coming days MASSIMO COSTA THE footbridge over the Mrieħel bypass remains inac- cessible to anyone unable to climb stairs as the project is one year late. Lifts on either side of the footbridge have not yet been installed, with the company en- trusted with its construction unable to say when this would be done. The original deadline for the completion of the bridge was February 2017. However, when it was apparent this would not be met, the scheduled date was extended by Transport Malta to June 2017. But Steel Structures Ltd, the company awarded the contract to build the bridge missed both deadlines. To date the bridge has not been officially opened despite the erection of a plaque commemo- rating two girls who were killed on the bypass in 2005. Emma Marie Housley, 17 and Graziella Fenech, 13 were mowed down as they crossed the busy road to go home after visit-ing a friend in the centre of Qormi. They formed part of a small community that was cut- off from the rest of Qormi when the by-pass was built with no provisions for pedestrian cross- ings. The footbridge had been promised by previous National- ist administrations until plans were scrapped after 2008. The Labour Party promised to build the bridge in its 2013 manifesto. In December last year Trans- port Malta filed a judicial pro- test against Steel Structures Ltd, claiming that the company failed to finish the works within the stipulated time, through "carelessness and negligence", and accused it of breaching the contract's conditions. Transport Minister Ian Borg told Parliament last month that the lifts should be installed by the end of February. He was responding to a parliamentary question made by Karol Aqui- lina. The contract was awarded by the Govern-ment as part of a 20-year concession agreement. The company which built the bridge was also given exclusive rights to the revenue earned from advertising placed on the bridge surfaces. Asked by this newspaper to explain the delay, Kurt Cini, owner of Steel Structures Ltd, said that the lifts had not yet been installed due to "technical issues encountered". He did not elaborate. "The lifts are now in Malta and shall be installed in the near fu- ture," Cini said. Cini denied that the lack of completion of the bridge was due to his company facing finan- cial difficulties. Steel Structures Ltd is facing a number of court cases from companies over monies owed. mcosta@mediatoday.com.mt Footbridge over Mriehel's 'road of death' still unfinished one year on A changing Malta: More crowded, more foreigners, more men KURT SANSONE MALTA'S population is fast approaching the half-a-mil- lion mark with new figures showing an average increase of 10,000 every year since 2013. Released by the National Statistics Office, the popu- lation estimates show there were 460,297 people living on the islands by the end of 2016. Growth was three times the increase registered in 2009 when Malta's population was recorded at 414,027. The population increase be- tween 2013 and 2016 mirrors the country's extraordinary economic growth, which has necessitated the importation of foreign labour. The NSO figures show that the vast majority of the pop- ulation increase was a result of foreigners coming to live and work in Malta. In 2016 alone, foreign na- tionals relocating to Malta accounted for 84% of the 9,882 increase in popula- tion. Immigration from other EU countries accounted for the largest group of for- eigners making Malta their home in 2016 with 8,968 relocating to the islands. However, these were partly offset by the departure of 3,226 EU nationals. People who came to Malta from countries out-side the EU, numbered 6,687 in 2016 but these were partly offset by the departure of 4,119. An increased foreign la- bour force has also contrib- uted to a shift in balance between men and women. Whereas until 2013, Malta's population was made up of more females than males – explained by the higher life expectancy of women – this was reversed between 2014 and 2016. In 2016, there were 231,663 men living in Mal- ta as opposed to 228,634 women. This was a result of the higher number of for- eign men who relocated to Malta for work purposes. From the almost 9,000 EU nationals who moved to Malta in 2016 and the al- most 7,000 non-EU nation- als, 57% and 56% respec- tively were men. The estimates also show that there were 88,458 peo- ple aged between 0 and 19. Those aged between 20 and 39 numbered 137,863, while those between 40 and 59 numbered 117,967. There were 96,990 aged between 60 and 79, while the 80+ cohort was made up of 19,019.