Over 70km of electricity cables to be laid in 12 localities

Over 70 kilometres of undergound 11kV cables will be added to the national grid over the coming months, with roadworks underway for trenching.

Enemalta is collaborating with Infrastructure Malta and Transport Malta on the works in Dingli, Mtarfa, Mosta, Naxxar, Kirkop, Zurrieq, Bormla, Żabbar, Kalkara, Gudja, Ta’ Qali, and Xgħajra.

Other network upgrades in several other localities in Malta and Gozo will also take place in the coming weeks.

Around 100 workers alone are deployed on these ongoing projects.

In 2023, the government pledged to double its 2024 investment in Malta’s electricity infrastructure to continue improving electricity services and meet the challenges set by climate change and future demand.

“Enemalta, Infrastructure Malta, and Transport Malta are pooling resources to add a record length of new cables to the network within a few months, almost four times as many kilometres of cables as those added in the last two years,” said energy minister Miriam Dalli.

“This important reinforcement is creating more alternative connections between different parts of the country, reducing the risk of supply disruptions to our customers, while facilitating quicker restoration when difficulties arise.

“Together with other ongoing and upcoming projects, including new distribution centres and substations, this investment will contribute to more reliable electricity services,” she added.

Transport minister Chris Bonett, who visited works in Dingli together with Dalli, said the joint operation would be coordinated in the best possible way to reduce inconveniences to the public.

In addition to the 11-kilovolt cable project, Enemalta is continuing its six-year plan launched in 2022, to reinforce all levels of the country’s electricity distribution infrastructure. As part of this plan, in 2024 it will commission another 45 new substations and upgrade several existing ones.

Preparations for two new distribution centres, one in Naxxar and another one in Siggiewi, are now well underway. Another call for offers for the upgrading of the Msida Distribution Centre was also issued in December. Enemalta also plans to increase the capacity of the St Andrew’s Distribution Centre and develop two new distribution centres in the Dingli and Cottonera areas.