The Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech today announced the allocation of €50 million that will fund various cultural projects, including the further enhancing of the Gozo Museum project.

In total, ten projects will be substantially funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for 2014-2020.

Mr Grech gave details about the ten approved projects that will see investments in the country's natural and cultural assets. These include the rehabilitation and restoration of the Grandmasters' Palace to bring it to its former glory; the conversion of Auberge D'Italie into the new national fine arts museum (MUZA); and the restoration, preservation and valorisation of the Notarial Archives.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that the Government's vision is to invest in a focused and balanced way in the country's economic, environmental, social and cultural development. He said that today's announcement "is a clear indication that this Government is committed to preserve and enhance Malta's cultural assets."

"Our nation is endowed with a very rich cultural heritage that needs to be restored, preserved and valorised," the Deputy Prime Minister said.

"We need to make it more accessible, to be enjoyed by Maltese citizens and tourists alike. This also has the potential to create new market niches, and to generate new, higher value-added economic activity," Grech continued.

Parliamentary Secretary for the EU Presidency 2017 and EU Funds Ian Borg highlighted projects with an environmental perspective, such as investments at Chadwick Lakes, the installation of a new ventilation and acclimatisation system of the Manoel theatre. Other projects include Carnival Village, which will definitely benefit further and expand the ever-growing tourism industry.

Borg underlined the broad spectrum of projects that will benefit from EU funding, and that these complement each other. He added that these projects will restore and revive our historical heritage and other environmental sites which currently may find themselves in a poor dilapidated state.

While thanking the Managing Authority for the ERDF 2014-2020 and the various Ministries and entities that participated in the selection process, Borg said that together with the respective Project Leaders he will soon be visiting these projects and augured that the beneficiary organisations will start work in earnest to ensure proper implementation, in line with agreed time-frames.

In conclusion, the Deputy Prime Minister said that today's €50 million funding allocation is a clear sign that the government wants to restore, preserve and valorise our cultural heritage, as this fosters our collective historical memory and the identity of the country. "We also need to make our cultural heritage accessible to be enjoyed by current and future generations."

Photograph: DOI/Pierre Sammut

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