Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/960495
News 3 maltatoday SUNDAY 1 APRIL 2018 Gzira's gaping 6,000sq.m hole could grow deeper CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Currently, the gaping hole across the 6,000sq.m plot on Testafer- rata Street, is at a depth of three to four storeys at the lower end, with enough space for an underlying car park for 500 bays. But Barker says that in 2016, the company was informed that the land surrounding the project was not government-owned and could not guarantee that any excavation would not be contested. So the land was requisitioned by the government, and then a tender was issued by the Lands Authority in October 2016 so that Metropolis could obtain access to the space be- neath the roads. "The purpose of the tender was to gain right of access to this part of the land. We are now paying the gov- ernment of Malta for access to this land, specifically so that we excavate beneath and create more parking spaces," Barker said. However, the development hit an- other snag over the legal uncertainty as to whether excavating beneath property belonging to third parties could be allowed in this case. "After winning the tender for the area comprising half the roads run- ning along the perimeter, we could reach an agreement on the terms of the tender, specifically with respect to the penalties incurred on delays tied to the excavation for the crea- tion of these new parking spaces," Barker said. Barker said that any change to the overall design of the project will have to get approval from the Plan- ning Authority. "The resolution on this issue would be to excavate fur- ther down, beneath sea level, but this would come at a con- siderable cost." Jalal Husni Bey (right) in 2015 at the site of the Metropolis project with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Since then, the project is nowhere the start of works that were supposed to have been completed by 2019