Mriehel Towers: Gasan and Tumas to invest €70 million

Tumas and Gasan Holdings will be investing €70 million in the proposed Mriehel Towers project which consists of four cylindrical tower blocks, comprising 16, 18, 20 and 14 storeys respectively, sitting on top of five basement levels. 

The application for the mega development was presented in October by the Tumas and Gasan groups, who are also partners in the ElectroGas power station consortium, on a site adjacent to that of the present Gasan head office on the Mriehel bypass. 

Contacted by MaltaToday, Ray Fenech, director of Tumas Group insisted that the company did not request the inclusion of Mriehel in the zones identified for high rise development in a planning document approved by MEPA last June. 

“An opportunity came and we took it,” Ray Fenech told MalaToday, while outlining ambitious plans to turn Mriehel into a  business hub.

Mriehel was not included among the localities that will be considered for high-rise buildings of over 10 storeys, when a policy regulating building heights was first issued for public consultation in November 2013. This meant that the public never had any chance to comment on the choice of this site.

But then Mriehel was added to the list just before the policy was approved in June.

Din l-Art Helwa president Simone Mizzi is still questioning the legality of the process.

“Mriehel was never included in the public consultation process for high rise development in the first place and as such the right and legality to build towers in the area is questionable,” she said.

Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar coordinator Astrid Vella  also claims that this site was included in the high-rise regulations abusively, as it was included after public consultation.

Planning Ombudsman David Pace had also criticised the inclusion of Mriehel in the approved zones where  high rise development can take place.

The sites where over-10 storey buildings are allowed are Gzira, Qawra, Paceville, Tigne, Marsa and Mriehel.

A blueprint for Mriehel

When asked about the impact on long distance views which are deemed significant by a MEPA screening report, Fenech replied that the impact will be fully assessed in the Environment Impact Assessment which will include photomontages of the development as seen from various sensitive views.  

Fenech is aware that the major hurdle for high-rise in Mriehel is its impact on the line of vision between Valletta and Mdina. 

But according to Fenech preliminary studies made before the application was presented indicate that the project will not obstruct this sightline.  

When asked about the expected annual energy consumption of seven million kWh cited in MEPA’s screening report, Fenech replied that the development will include various energy conservation measures and the developers will be seeking LEED certification.

LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a green building certification programme that recognises best-in-class building strategies and practices. 

To receive LEED certification, building projects must satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification.

The number of points a project earns determines the level of LEED certification that the project will receive. 

“We will be aiming for the highest level of certification, which is platinum certification, and we will surely get gold certification if we do not manage that,” Fenech promised.

Malta’s first energy-efficient building SCM01 in Smart City has been awarded LEED Silver by the US Green Building Council. The new Tigne Point  Business Tower is also aiming for LEED certification on completion.

Critics point out that LEED provides benchmarks rather than a set of standards giving developers the opportunity to pick and choose from a laundry list of greening strategies to reach a green building design. 

Demand for offices

When asked whether there is enough demand for offices considering the various concurrent projects ranging from Smart City, the Metropolis in Gzira and Sky Parks, Fenech replied that demand is so big that at Portomaso they have an enormous waiting list and no office space is empty. He referred to sectors like the gaming industry whose hunger for office space in Malta is insatiable.

“For every office we lease, we have 10 others in the waiting list,” Fenech said.

But the major advantage for the new development is its central location, near to the country’s major financial institutions like HSBC and Bank of Valletta and near the country’s residential and recreational areas.

Moreover the development aims at transforming Mriehel itself into an office hub; by providing office support services, recreational facilities for employees like gymnasiums, a day care centre and a supermarket.  

The project will include these facilities apart from offices.

“Presently there is a lot of business activity in Mriehel but little support facilities to support employment in a modern business environment.” 

According to Fenech studies will be comprehensive and will not only include an assessment of the visual impact but also of other themes like that on the micro climate and shadowing.

The impact of the project

The project will include 39,915 square metres of office space, 1,060 square metres of retail space, a 790 square metre show room, a 1,735 square metre gymnasium and day care centre, a 1,225 square metre supermarket and 33,831 square metres of parking spaces catering for 1,032 cars.  

The towers are to be organised around a central plaza. The project will include elevated, landscaped walkways and public spaces connecting the towers at Levels 2, 3 and 4. The towers will also have open air terraces on the other levels.

The western half of the site is currently being used as a car park in connection with the adjacent Gasan showroom. 

An abandoned farmhouse is located along the northwestern perimeter of the site and is currently in a state of disrepair. The eastern side of the site is undeveloped and previously consisted of agricultural land.

The southern part of the development site is already committed for a multi-storey commercial complex, including a showroom, offices and car parking provision. A development permit was granted to the same applicant for a five-storey development in July 2010.

A Project Development Statement presented by the developers’ consultants estimates that the proposal at full operation shall be consuming 7,000,000 kWh in terms of electricity and 109,600 litres in terms of water.

Excavations will result in 143,000 cubic metres of construction waste. The material is not expected to be of good quality due to its clay content, and therefore cannot be re-used.

The development will result in an increase of 2,800 employees frequenting this site. This may increase traffic and emissions in the area.

A screening by MEPA’s Environment Protection Directorate concludes that the development required an Environment Planning Statement.

According to the screening report the project is likely to have a potential significant impact on landscape and visual amenity in the area, “including long-distance views given the site context and its location”. But the screening report does not refer to any impact on the line of vision between Valletta and Mdina.

Interviewed in The Times in June, MEPA official Joe Scalpello specified that any development in Mriehel must safeguard views of Mdina and Valletta, “as there is a sight-line between the two (historical cities), right across Mriehel.”

The site for the proposed development is located on the southern edge of the Mriehel Industrial Area and covers an area of approximately 10,000m2. 

Is it sustainable?

Astrid Vella, co-ordinator of  Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar questioned the long term sustainability and viability of the project.

“MEPA had confirmed that at the present demand for commercial premises, there will be a glut of properties once recent and planned projects are all completed,” she said. 

Thus according to FAA the proposal to build four commercial towers at Mriehel could jeopardise the commercial success of the Smart City, Skyparks and Midi complexes, besides the Metropolis, Xemxija Towers and Townsquare projects in the pipeline. 

“Can Malta afford to waste precious land on projects destined to remain empty and become eyesores?” she asked.

Vella also warned that at a height of 18 storeys, this development will throw long shadows over residences for miles around, depriving them of light and solar rights. 

“Furthermore, this massive project to rise to 18 floors lies within the supposedly protected heritage vista between Mdina and Valletta, and will irrevocably destroy this heritage vista. If Malta is to attract cultural tourists, it needs to protect its cultural landscapes”.  

Din l-Art Helwa president Simone Mizzi warns that through the approval of this project the whole industrial area will be “eventually committed to tall buildings.”  This would “severely impact the sight lines to Valletta”, Mizzi warns. She would also have liked more discussion on highrise development.  

“Changing the nation’s skyline permanently and perhaps not for the better is a subject which needed more studies.”

She was also critical of what she described as “lego land” design.

“I am sure this can be rendered more elegant with more study.”