Fort Ricasoli to be freed from unsightly oil tanks

Fort Ricasoli will be rid of massive oil tanks that occupy part of the historic site after parliament approved an alternative site for the tank cleaning company.

The fort in Kalkara lies at the mouth of the Grand Harbour and part of it is used as an oil tank cleaning facility by Ricasoli Port Facility Ltd.

The tank cleaning farm has long been operational at the tip of Rinella Bay and in 2013, the company was given a 30-year temporary lease to operate the facility after winning a tender.

Malta is obliged by international conventions to have an oil tank cleaning farm inside its port. Large tanks occupy the ditch and a jetty occupies the seashore below the ramparts.

Transport Minister Ian Borg presented a resolution to parliament’s National Audit Committee on Monday to end the Ricasoli lease and award an alternative site in Grand Harbour to the company.

Ricasoli Port Facility (RPF) will be taking over the land currently occupied by Mediterranean Offshore Bunkering Company (MOBC) in Marsa. The transfer makes it incumbent on RPF to take on board all of MOBC’s employees.

Fort Ricasoli will be transferred back to the government, enabling its restoration. The upper part of the fort is often used by the film industry.

The committee approved the resolution unanimously.

Glenn Bedingfield, a Labour MP on the Second District who chairs the Cottonera Regeneration Committee, said he was happy that parliament approved the relocation.

“This was one of the proposals listed in the strategy for the regeneration of Cottonera that we worked for. We now have to look ahead to maximise the potential of Fort Ricasoli and enlarge Rinella Bay and make it more beautiful,” Bedingfield said.