Joe Mizzi the Minister for Transport and the Infrastructure, during a seminar organised by TM and FAA for architects, road contractors and Local Councillors on roadside trees has said that, “this is a rather topical and important subject, and I reiterate the Government’s commitment declared in its Electoral Manifesto, to safeguard existent trees and to create more opportunities for the planting of new ones.”

“Road construction plays a vital role in our island’s socio-economic development. We do however acknowledge the fact that we need to create a sustainable balance between building new roads and retaining a natural habitat. Given the size of our island – this is not the easiest of tasks,” he said.

The Minister added, “we have often received criticism about having had to uproot trees to make space for infrastructural projects. There are instances where, inevitably, one has to make way for the other but with due planning, care and consideration, trees and shrubs can be relocated instead of destroyed.

“During the Coast Road Project, for example, Transport Malta personnel closely supervised the relocation works of most of the olive trees along the Kennedy Drive stretch, on the north bound carriageway.

“The relocation was inevitable as the Coast Road required widening in order to render it safer for motorists, which is the scope of the whole project after all.”

“Works were carried out following consultations with MEPA and the Malta Embellishment and Landscaping Project, to ensure that the pruning and relocation exercises were carried out according to standards and with minimal invasion,” the Minister said.

Ge pointed out that also along the Kennedy Drive stretch, they went as far as “changing the design and realigning part of the road to protect some of the older trees, which will now be housed in the centre strip.”

“Despite our efforts to save these trees, the project unfortunately did require the uprooting of three Ficus trees and four Pine trees,” Minister Mizzi continued, “we were criticised for this however; sub-terrain investigations revealed that the roots of these seven trees had, over the years, grown around the sanitary sewer pipes, eliminating totally the possibility of relocation.”

“As announced in July of this year, to make up for the disruption caused by the widening of the Salina Coast Road, Transport Malta together with my Ministry and the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change shall be investing 300,000 euro on several recreational facilities and improvements at the Salina National Park.”

This investment will consist of the planting of additional trees as well as the creation of rest areas.

Another case in point is the Pietà and Msida bus lane project, the Minister said. “The original designs which had been prepared included the construction of a bus lane as an inner lane of the main carriageway but this entailed the removal of all the trees which would have been replaced by the bus lane.”

The new design which has been implemented, still included the construction of a bus lane however it did not require the uprooting of any trees.

Minister Mizzi reiterated that these actions are part of the Government’s initiatives to ensure that national projects are: • implemented with minimum negative impact; • compensatory when disruption is inevitable.

The Minister said, “committed to preserving Malta and Gozo’s architectural and rural heritage as well as ensuring a healthy quality of life, FAA has today become a recognised and respected stakeholder supplementing the direction from MEPA and MELP when it comes to the conservation and preservation of trees.”

Everyone gathered at the seminar, the Minister said, “Periti at Transport Malta, responsible for the planning and design of road, the Local Councils being stakeholders, the contractors, responsible for the actual execution of the works and dare I say, the environment lobby – all of us in our respective roles have a lesson or two to learn.”

“Trees are the longest lived organism on the planet and therefore looking after existing trees and planting new ones is an investment that creates a local and global ecological heritage for many hundreds of years.

“For the sake of our children, if not our own, let us discuss and ultimately agree on sustainable development for a better quality of life throughout,” the Minister concluded.

Photograph: DOI/Martin Attard

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