New Birżebbuġa bay officially opened

The newly-replenished St George’s Bay in Birżebbuġa was official opened by Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi this morning.

It is one of a number of beaches that are being replenished using sand from the seabed in order to create more swimming zones across the island.

Accompanied by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici, Palriamentary Secretary Julia Farrugia Portelli, MP Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi and MTA CEO Gavin Gulia, Mizzi expressed his satisfaction at the fact that the beach could now be used by tourists and locals alike.

He said the sand on the beach had been recovered from the seabed making the process “environmentally friendly”.

Over the coming days, he said two more bays would be opened – a temporary one in Balluta, which is being financed by the Marriot Hotel, as well as a new permanent bay in Marsaxlokk.

The Ghar l-ahmar beach in Marsaxlokk would be permanent since a barrier had been installed on the seabed to stop sand from being lost back to the sea.

Mizzi also said that a permit had been issued for work to start on the tal-Fajtata Bay in St Thomas Bay in Marsaskala. Though small, he said the beach was used by a significant number of people.

Turning back to Birżebbuġa, he said that the government had a regeneration plan for locality, and would soon be starting work on an afforestation project in the vicinity of the Freeport, a new car park and the regeneration of the Birżebbuġa promenade.