Land reclamation: a ditched proposal resuscitated

In June 2005 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi presented his proposal for the development of an 'artificial island' on two localities identified in a previous study. This was done on the same day Gonzi put forward his plans for a golf course at Xaghra l-Hamra in what came to be seen as Gonzi's moment of rapture with the green lobby.

In a strongly-worded statement, environmental NGO Friends of the Earth blasted the proposal, noting that "proposals for land reclamation indicate that both the government and the opposition are willing to succumb to pressures by the business community and land speculators at the expense of harm to the marine environment".

It also described the Prime Minister's announcement as "a clear sign of admittance that the relevant authorities have failed to curtail unsustainable practices in resource use within the construction industry".

This preceded an all-out offensive which culminated in the 2006 extension of building boundaries and the revision of local plans. It was only on the eve of the 2008 election that Gonzi felt the need to address the environmental deficit created as a result of his government's policies. In 2007 the golf course proposal was scrapped while studies were still being conducted on the artificial islands proposal.

Studies sink islands

The artificial islands were proposed in ix-Xghajra ta' Haz Zabbar and opposite the Maghtab rubbish dump, following a preliminary study commissioned by MEPA and entrusted to Carl Bro, before the feasibility studies and environmental impact studies had been carried out.

These tasks were assigned to Maltese consultants ADI and British expert Scott Wilson.

The studies excluded reclamation on the Bahar ic-Caghaq coast, but considered it on parts of the Xghajra coastline. According to the studies, any land reclamation should only go ahead if there is no other possible means of dealing with the construction waste once all quarry space has been exhausted.

"If there is a period of many years before that situation arises, then it would be logical to concentrate on improving the effectiveness of existing policy and economic instruments to reduce inert waste generation rather than going directly to land reclamation," the report states.

The study excludes sea areas with protected grass beds (posidonia meadows) from being used for land reclamation, limiting it to Xghajra's northern area or an expansion of the Freeport as an alternative means of accommodating inert waste.

But what ultimately condemned the proposal was the cost. According to the study, land reclamation would cost anything between €15 to €40 per cubic metres, but it costs just €3 to place the same amount in quarries, or €4 to dump it at sea.

The construction of an 'engineered containment structure' to protect the marine environment is the costliest part of land reclamation.

The study concludes that land reclamation could only be feasible if it is subsequently developed on lines similar to the proposals for SmartCity. "Smart City has been evaluated as producing net annual benefits to the economy of up to €800 per square metre. There remains a question mark over whether there is sufficient demand for this scale of development".

The construction waste problem

Although the quick-fix solution to Malta's construction waste problem has been shot down by studies, the problem of how to tackle 84% of Malta's waste remains.

The Maghtab dumpsite stopped accepting construction waste in July 2003. Between May 2003 and December 2007, over 6 million tonnes of construction waste have been disposed of in various quarries across the island through the contract operated by WasteServ.

As from January 2005, the subsidy on the disposal of construction waste was removed and contractors now pay the full cost for the disposal of the waste that is generated. Added to this the fact that a staggering 1.5 million tonnes of construction waste was also dumped in an offshore "spoil ground" located northeast of Valletta harbour between 2003 and 2009.

A study commissioned by the Malta Environmental and Planning Authority carried out by Scott Wilson (UK) at a cost of €23,393 has revealed the scale of degradation in an offshore site northeast of Valletta.

Since no regulatory framework existed before 2002, the authorities have no idea about how much waste was dumped prior to that date.

According to a spokesperson for MEPA, the study presents a picture of "a site that has been subjected to dumping operations for over 50 years under different regulatory regimes", adding that "the result of the survey results reflect this".

The aim of the study was to have a general idea on the nature and extent of the spoil ground, noting that dumping of material has been taking place since the end of World War II when the site was used extensively for the dumping of war.

"It is also to be noted that for decades, the nature of the material dumped on site was not subject to the regulatory regime that has been in place over the last five years or so," the MEPA spokesperson said.

The study surveyed a spatial extent of about 32km2, which covers the spoil ground and adjacent areas. MEPA now only allows the dumping of uncontaminated construction wastes and monitors all dumping operations. 

Waste policy still considers reclamation

The idea now championed by Labour leader Joseph Muscat has not been entirely abandoned by the present government.

Malta's new solid waste management plan issued in 2010 proposed land reclamation on a smaller scale for the embellishment for beaches.

"It is important to open the debate on the potential of reclamation as well as the creation of islands initially as an embellishment for beaches to transform what is today considered a waste into a resource".

But the same policy - issued before the conclusion of MEPA's studies on artificial islands - states that land reclamation should only be considered if it is "technically, economically and environmentally feasible".

The same strategy on waste management includes a stiff warning that if "unsustainable practices in the construction industry continue" the government will have to raise tariffs on the disposal of this waste in quarries and at sea.

To encourage the recycling of construction waste dumped in quarries or in the sea, the new policy proposes the abolition of VAT on recyclable construction material to encourage its use.

Malta's solid waste management plan regarded dumping-at-sea as a temporary solution to the problems associated with the disposal of large amounts of inert waste in Malta.