Sally Port Promenade works start to take shape

Infrastructure Malta has launched a €9 million project to regenerate the Sally Port road in Vittoriosa and the Kalkara Waterfront.

The project will facilitate the upgrading of a one-kilometre stretch of the Cottonera coastline, reaching from the Villa Bighi area to Fort St Angelo.

Photo: Infrastructure Malta

Works will start with the reconstruction of circa 600 metres of quays in the area in the Sally Port area, known as 'It-Toqba'. The investment will see the area transformed into a new promenade, with the Kalkara Waterfront and locality square upgraded further.

Parts of the old Sally Port quays that suffered weather damage through the years will be removed, as the concrete structures are at risk of caving in.

In the meantime, Infrastructure Malta said that a team of divers will be repairing and stabilising the underwater sections among some parts of the quays, which will be retained and incorporated in the new promenade.

A visual impression of the final project (Photo: Infrastructure Malta)

The neglected seafront area in Cottonera will be turned into a new promenade, with wide, paved footpaths, benches and decorative lighting. A public garden will be added to the mix, with new public toilets and landscaped areas filled with flower beds and shrubs adapted to the coastal environment.

This outdoor recreational space will be linked to the centre of Vittoriosa through the historical Sally Port tunnel built within the bastions separating the quays from the city, with another uninterrupted pedestrian route passing through the Birgu Marina, the Dock 1 area of Cospicua, the Senglea Waterfront and the Boiler Wharf beneath the Gardjola Gardens.

Infrastructure Malta had consulted with the Planning Authority, the Superintendence or Cultural Heritage and the Environment and Resources Authority throughout the designing and planning of the new quays.

Photo: Infrastructure Malta

The Planning Authority issued the development permits for this project last month following a public consultation period,. The reconstruction of the quays and the development of the new promenade are scheduled to be completed within 18 months. 

In further collaboration with Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation, Infrastructure Malta will seek to extend this project to the adjacent Kalkara Waterfront.