[WATCH] Fort St Elmo restoration 'nearing completion'

President tours restored Fort St Elmo • Video Ray Attard

Restoration works on Fort St. Elmo, Valletta are nearing completion and the fort will open its doors to the public “in the coming weeks”, the government announced.

The restoration project cost around €15.3 million, 85% of which came from EU funds, and was carried out by the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation. The government considers the restoration of this fort as a priority in its programme to regenerate Malta’s capital city.

“I encourage the public to appreciate this historical jewel with their own eyes once it opens it doors to them, because the GHRC has truly given a present to the Maltese people on the 450th anniversary of the Great Siege,” President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said during a visit to the fort. “While Malta’s situation is now a peaceful and stable one and while its people are now respected by its neighbouring countries, this fort reminds us of Malta’s past.” 

Apart from the restoration of the fort and of St Anna’s chapel, the revamped Fort St. Elmo will also include a military museum and a passageway around the bastions.

“It’s a shame that tourists got to see this fort, so central to many battles in Malta’s history, in such a bad state,” Infrastructure Minister Joe Mizzi said. “However, over the past months, this site has been transformed into a beautiful historical jewel.”