Nine local councils will be benefiting from over €300,000 by the MEPA after their projects met the necessary criteria to receive funding through Urban Development Fund (UIF). The 11 projects, which are being fully funded by the Authority, are specifically targeted at improving the quality of life for residents living in these localities.

The ‘urban improvement’ projects that are to receive funding include embellishment works in Mosta, Ta’ Xbiex, Fgura, Mqabba and Qormi, the development of a recreational park in San Pawl il-Bahar and paving works around a number of streets and pjazzas in Qrendi, Msida, Kalkara, Kirkop and Gharghur. The local councils of Siggiewi, Zebbug (Gozo) and Luqa will all be carrying out separate projects to replace and install new street energy saving lighting in their respective localities.

The Zabbar local council has acquired funds to ensure that the Civil Centre in its locality ensures access for all. The Gharghur Mayor Mr Mario Gauci said “the Urban Improvement Fund enables us to undertake projects aimed primarily at improving the general environment of our village core. Through this fund, over the past three years, we have managed to complete the paving of a number of alleys in the vicinity of our main pjazza and the installation of new street furniture that include benches and decorative lanterns in Misrah il-Knisja.”

The Mayor of Qormi Mr Jesmond Aquilina expressed the same sentiment and said “we are grateful that through Mepa’s Urban Improvement Fund, our local council has managed to embellish various gardens and playing fields, including the Armier Garden, Pjazza Frederick Maempel and Youth Garden.”

Over the past years, since the fund was launched in 2006, the Authority has successfully invested close to €8 million in over 185 projects. The Urban Improvement Fund brings with it opportunities for our towns and villages to invest in a more sustainable environment and improve the quality of life for residents, but not only, our localities deserve that their appearance is improved to continue developing their culture and identity.

The Authority is currently studying new mechanisms that will render the Urban Improvement Fund to benefit from more efficiency in revenue collection, improved transparency in the decision-making process and improved linkages between policy priorities and the priorities of the funds. Some of the proposals include that Commuters Parking Payment Scheme will cease to exist as a separate mechanism and will be subsumed within the UIF and while funds will continue to be earmarked for specific localities from which they have been generated, however UIF policy will be amended so as to allow proposals that involve several localities and are regional in scope.

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