Government denies hundreds of trees in Rabat will be uprooted for major road project

Most trees in Mdina Road won't be removed, will be protected by a specially built central strip, government says

The government has denied reports in The Times of Malta that hundreds of trees in Mdina Road will be uprooted
The government has denied reports in The Times of Malta that hundreds of trees in Mdina Road will be uprooted

The government has categorically denied that hundreds of trees in the area between Attard and Ta’ Qali are going to be removed as part of a major road infrastructure project in the central areas of Malta.

The Times of Malta reported today that plans submitted a few days ago indicate that almost 200 mature trees, most of which are located in upper Mdina Road between Mount Carmel Hospital and the Saqqajja Hill junction, will have to be uprooted to make way for the project.

The newspaper said that a considerable number of trees in lower Mdina Road, especially those close to the San Anton Gardens junction, will also be removed.

The government, however, rubbished these claims, saying the majority of trees which the article made reference to in Mdina Road will remain where they are, and will be protected by means of a central strip, which will be purposely built between the road’s two opposite-direction carriages.

“The environmental authorities suggested this solution - with something similar having already been done for the Coast Road project in the Kennedy Grove area - and Transport Malta architects included it as part of the environmental protection measures which will be adopted,” it said.

An extra 212 trees will also be planted, the government underscored, highlighting that the project had been drawn up after discussions with the Environment and Resources Authority.

“In cases where trees need to be uprooted to increase the safety of the new roads, these will be planted in other places, and new trees - of the same maturity and size - will replace them in the areas where the trees were removed,” it added.

Read also:

€55 million central Malta road project aims to halve travel time, reduce emissions

The €55 million “Central Link Project”, announced last month, should take around two years to complete, and aims to improve the route between the Mriehel bypass in the direction of Birkirkara, Balzan and Attard, going on to the Saqqajja Hill roundabout, which connects Ta’ Qali, Attard, Rabat, Zebbug and Mosta.

Transport Minister Ian Borg had said that much less agricultural land would be used for the project than is actually permitted, and had highlighted that 19,300 sq. m. of landscaped areas would be added as a result of it.

He had not, however, given any information related to the uprooting, or otherwise, of trees.