€500,000 study confirms land reclamation is too costly

A study commissioned by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) established that land reclamation projects in Malta would be too costly.

The half a million euros study assessed the economic and environmental feasibility of land reclamation in 11 different shapes along two areas on the Maltese coastline identified in a previous study by Danish experts Carl Bros.

The two areas were the coastline between Pembroke and Qawra and the coastline between Marsaskala and Ricasoli.

The studies which included an investigation of the marine environment in both areas were conducted at an expense of €500,000, after Lawrence Gonzi declared the government's intention to embark on a project to create artificial islands on the coastline on the same day he announced the aborted Xaghra l-Hamra golf course in 2005.

In view of the high costs involved the report concludes "it would appear prudent to ...consider other measures to reduce the size of the waste stream, before embarking on such as high cost project".

Labour leader Joseph Muscat has recently declared that a land reclamataion project which ould include a yacht marina would be in the governemnt's agenda if he is elected to power.

According to the study, the only type of economic development which will be permitted in land reclamation zones would be similar to the SmartCity Malta project currently under way in Malta.

The studies - which included an investigation of the marine environment in both areas - were conducted at an expense of €500,000, after Lawrence Gonzi declared the government's intention to embark on a project to create artificial islands on the coastline on the same day he announced the aborted Xaghra l-Hamra golf course in 2005.

In view of the high costs involved,  the report concludes "it would appear prudent to... consider other measures to reduce the size of the waste stream, before embarking on such as high cost project".

The study assessed the economic and environmental feasibility of land reclamation in 11 different shapes along two areas on the Maltese coastline identified in a previous study by Danish experts Carl Bros.

The two areas were the coastline between Pembroke and Qawra (Area 1) and the coastline between Marsaskala and Ricasoli (Area 3).

The study excludes the creation of artificial islands, which are deemed too expensive and identified two possible sites where the coastline can be extended, on the northern part of the coastline between Marsaskala and Ricasoli near the present Smart City development. 

Land reclamation on the stretch of coastline at Bahar ic-Caghaq was completely excluded for ecological reasons, even if it emerged that this area would be the most economically viable for reclamation.

But a land reclamation project on the northern part of the Xghajra coast (Area 3) would cost between €250 and €439 million. 

In these two locations the major cost will be in creating edge protection through breakwaters. In these three sites, edge protection costs range between €164 and €273 million. These were the only areas of 11 considered sites, which would be eligible for land reclamation due to the absence of EU protected Posidonia meadows.

The degree to which the project would be attractive to the private sector was considered limited at present.

"Although a project in Area 3 has the potential to achieve the required rate of return to make investment attractive, the combination of rather marginal returns with risks associated to lack of security of material supply, would make any such project unattractive to the private sector."

This would mean that the government would have to step in to fork out the initial cost.

According to the study, the only type of economic development which will be permitted in land reclamation zones would be similar to the SmartCity Malta project currently under way in Malta.

Economic benefits

The studies conclude that land reclamation would have positive economic results for the country if the land is used commercially.

"On the assumption that land obtained through land reclamation would be available for economic development, there appear to be the potential for strong net economic benefits to be reaped. This is due to relatively high land values in Malta, as well as the potential to undertake high value added investment projects in the economy."

However, the report points out the "risks" associated with demand for new properties, which would be even greater if Malta opts for a large-scale land reclamation project.

Such risks could also be more relevant in the case of the undertaking of several land reclamation options simultaneously.

In order to mitigate these risks, it is recommended that land reclamation would be undertaken as an integral part of a "well defined development project" such that the policy constraints and demand risk can be more precisely assessed and evaluated.

Ironically, it was the extension to the coastline in Area 1 (Bahar ic-Caqghaq coast) excluded for ecological reasons, which yielded the best relative economic performance.

On the other hand, the artificial islands in both areas yielded the most negative results.

"Area 1 (Bahar ic-Caghaq) performs better than Area 3 (Ricasoli to M'Scala coast) both in terms of cost effectiveness of waste management and in terms of development value."

Within Area 3, the best-performing options were also excluded for ecological reasons.

How reclamation works

Land reclamation using waste material is technically feasible, providing it is bunded and contained. Without containment, placed material would be subject to rapid erosion and dispersion across large areas, which would be environmentally acceptable. Bunding would take the form of a breakwater, constructed by one of a number of methods including rubble mound, concrete caissons and steel caissons.

Technical difficulties of bund construction effectively restricts the feasible area for reclamation to areas of the seabed shallower than 20m deep - i.e., areas within the minus-20m contour. The study also states that there is very little experience of land reclamation and construction of breakwaters and costs and risks increase rapidly.

The cost of land reclamation

Land reclamation entails costs per cubic metre of inert waste disposal ranging between €15 and €40, for the case where filling takes place to depths over 5 meters. The cost includes studies, investigations, edge protection works, and the costs of placement itself.

Where filling takes place in depth of more than 25 meters, the costs per cubic meter of inert waste disposal range between €9 and €28.

Filling up to 25 meters above sea level is more cost-efficient per cubic meter of waste dumped than those involving a fill of five meters above sea level. This is because the filling depths between 5 and 25 meters involve little or no extra expenditure on protective structures.

The costs of reclamation

Costs were established for each of the 11 reclamation shape, using a combination of Maltese experience and experience from marine projects worldwide. The cost of creating the reclamations was assessed as ranging from €42 million to €546 million.

Costs vary according to the volume of fill that would need to be placed, the length and cross-section of bunding structure required to contain the fill, and the cost of preliminary studies and investigations.

Where reclamation shapes require construction of bunds in relatively deeper water, or a large length of bund (for example in the case of an island) then the costs increase significantly, particularly in the early stages of the project.

The cost of placement per m3 ranges from €15 to €40, compared to around €3 for placement in quarries and €4 for dumping at sea, so land reclamation is a more costly approach.

If the filling level is raised to 25 meters, costs can be reduced to between €9 to €28. This is because more fill can be accommodated for a given area. But this is still more than the cost for placement in quarries.

Viability

A suitable rate of return for a private sector project to be viable (around 15%) would only be achieved by some of the land reclamation shapes, generally those with shorter timescales for completion and located in shallower water depths. For this reason, islands would not be viable.

In terms of impact on the economy of Malta, a land reclamation project would generate present value benefits of between €616 million and €3,180 million and produce a rate of return of 10-40%. The highest returns would be achieved by reclamations in shallower waters, typically those in Area 1 (Bahar ic-Caghaq coast).

The most cost-effective options, according to the study, would be an inlet infill  formed by constructing edge protection across the mouth of the inlet at Qalet Marku.

However, the viability of the project is dependent on the land being subsequently developed along similar lines 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. But according to the report, "there remains a question mark over whether there is sufficient demand for this scale of development".

Environmental constraints

The major environmental stumbling block for land reclamation is the presence of protected sea grass habitats over much of the seabed within the areas shallower than 20m. This habitat is protected under EU law, and only a development of national importance would justify construction in this area.

"It is concluded that land reclamation for the purpose of accommodating inert waste and creating land for development is not of sufficient national importance for the project to go ahead".

Therefore, it was concluded that only the areas without sea grass beds should be

considered further for land reclamation. This limits land reclamation to the northern part of Area 3.

The majority of the proposed reclaimed areas on the Bahar ic-Caghaq (Area 1) coast coincide with Posidonia oceanica communities. All reclamation shapes in Area 1 also coincide with infralittoral algal communities and Cymodocea nodosa communities. Additionally, all reclamation shapes in Area 1, apart from one, are within 500m of an ecologically important designated site.

Area 1 has a high archaeological potential. Archaeological objects recovered from Area 1 include Roman shards, two Roman anchors, a Roman corn grinder, a ballast heap, and amphora necks from the late Roman or early Byzantine periods.

The majority of the proposed reclamation areas on the Ricasoli to Marsaskala coast coincide with infralittoral algal communities. Only two sites do not coincide with Posidonia oceanica communities.

The archaeological potential of Area 3 is high. The main archaeological 'objects' discovered on the seabed of Area 3 or within its vicinity consists of a series of modern wrecks datable back to World War II.

The coastal area and valleys within the Ricasoli/Kalkara area are scheduled or listed as Areas of Ecological/Geological Importance and Sites of Scientific Importance in the respective local plans. Part of the Ricasoli peninsula coincides with a scheduled Area of High Landscape Value.