Ħal Farruġ: Unsightly fuel tanks, false promises and Muscat’s regret

Ħal Farruġ residents were promised compensation five years ago by the government for the unsightly development of huge fuel tanks a mere 110m from their homes.

Today, the families living in this hamlet on the outskirts of Luqa are still waiting for that promise and others to be fulfilled.

Ħal Farruġ is situated just outside the airport perimeter and is home to a few hundred people. The case concerns the construction of three large steel tanks within the airport grounds for the storage of aviation fuel.

Built in 2018, the tanks operated by Enemed, the State fuel company, replaced a much smaller storage facility that was originally built in the 1930s.

However, the new development came closer to the residential area and the height of the tanks overshadowed people’s homes. According to the case officer’s report from 2017, the tanks are approximately 23m high, “around four times as much” as the structures they eventually replaced.

A safety report included with the planning application said the new jet fuel storage facility was to be made up of two tanks with a capacity of 4,977 cubic metres and a third tank with a volume of 4,567 cubic metres.

Enemed now wants to build a “structure” to screen the large fuel tanks and has filed a planning application. “To minimise the tanks’ visual impact, Enemed has submitted a planning application… it is being processed,” a company spokesperson told MaltaToday.

Documentation obtained from the Planning Authority website shows that the target date for a decision on this screening structure is set for 31 May 2024.

Peter Agius

Enemed still seeking land for solar farm

But in its replies to questions by this newspaper, Enemed said nothing about the monetary compensation that was promised to residents in 2019.

At the time, Luqa Mayor John Schembri distributed a leaflet that included a commitment that Enemed would be offering compensation of €500 per year for 20 years to each family once it invests in a solar farm.

The solar farm was never built, and residents have not received a cent in compensation with the local council washing its hands of the case.

Replying to questions from this newspaper, Enemed said the area originally earmarked for the development of a solar farm was deemed unfeasible following site investigations.

“Aware of the land limitations, Enemed is still seeking alternative sites [for the solar farm] in an attempt to identify suitably sized land,” the spokesperson said.

To mitigate the impact on the community, Enemed is currently in talks to transform the site originally identified for the solar farm into an adventure park.

“The park will be funded by Enemed as part of its wider community outreach,” the spokesperson added.

Complaint filed with European Commission

The story concerning the Ħal Farruġ community resurfaced recently when Nationalist MEP candidate Peter Agius filed a complaint with the European Commission on behalf of the residents.

The residents have argued that the fuel tanks fall foul of EU standards as outlined in the Seveso III Directive that state such facilities should maintain a perimeter of 500m for safety. The houses are located just 110m away.

The airport fuel facility is one of nine sites in Malta that are classified under the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) as dictated by the Seveso Directive. It is classified as a lower tier establishment for fuel storage and distribution with the last inspection by the authorities having taken place in September 2023.

The Enemed spokesperson said the fuel tanks were built according to international safety standards and the facility is the “only site owned by Enemed that could be placed airside under the airport’s control”.

The company said it had been engaging with several authorities since March 2015 before proceeding to file a planning application in 2017. It also commissioned German and Italian consultants to study and perform a plant safety analysis, which documentation is available on the PA’s website.

Enemed said the company also installed carbon filters on the tanks to control emissions.

“Safety is a top priority for Enemed. Responsible for controlling major accident hazards, the COMAH authority, continues to conduct annual inspections, while the CPD conducts periodical training,” the company said.

Residents deceived by false promises

Back in 2017, the Luqa local council did not object to the development and residents were subsequently reassured by ministers Konrad Mizzi and Silvio Schembri, who is the mayor’s son, that they had nothing to worry about.

Residents were promised a boundary wall between the residential area and the storage facility, cladding and landscaping to minimise the visual impact, the construction of a solar farm that would enable residents to receive monetary compensation.

None of these pledges were kept and it is only now that Enemed has filed a planning application to construct a screening structure.

It is of little consolation for residents that former prime minister Joseph Muscat considers the construction of the unsightly fuel tanks bang in their face as one of his government’s regrets.

‘Oh, my God, what have we done’

In an interview with Karl Bonaci on F Living, a TV station, on 1 February this year, Muscat said he is shaken by the sight of the tanks every time he passes through Ħal Farruġ.

“People wrote to me after the tanks were built… they are very close to people’s apartments and when I visited, I said to myself ‘Oh, my God, what have we done here’,” Muscat said, adding it was one of his regrets. “I had gone to speak to the people of Ħal Farruġ and said I understood them if they chose not to vote [because of the fuel tanks]. I was angry with myself on the day. The minister responsible had not done it on purpose, the intention was good, although I still gave him a dressing down and told him something like this is not on.”

Muscat’s words now are meaningless but go some way to justify the anger and frustration residents of Ħal Farruġ feel at being ignored all these years despite government assurances they will be compensated, and mitigation measures will be put in place.