“Important milestones” have been reached in relation to the €130m+ EU funded major project, the Water Services Corporation has said.

Speaking at an event at Ta’ Kandja Pumping Station attended by Parliamentary Secretary Aaron Farrugia, Minister Edward Scicluna, and Minister Joe Mizzi, the Water Services Corporation gave details on the “vast amount of work” that was undertaken since the project was announced earlier this year.

It explained that 158 tenders have been issued, 130 of them already adjudicated and the 2018 EU funds disbursement target already reached at €37m, ahead of deadline. “An unprecedented achievement when it comes to EU funds disbursement,” the Corporation said.

It added that the project will revolutionise the way water is produced and distributed across Malta and Gozo.

The WSC said that seawater desalination plants will be upgraded both in terms of capacity and efficiency, producing much more water with less energy. Reverse Osmosis specific energy requirements will go down by 8.1%, equivalent to 0.31% savings in terms of total national current energy demand.

The contract was signed last month for a new reverse osmosis for the Island of Gozo with a capacity of 9 million litres per day giving security and high-quality water.

This quality will also be reached throughout the island of Malta through an overhaul of the distribution and blending system, central to which is a €33m tunnel from Pembroke to Ta Qali, the WSC said.

The Corporation said that the project will also see a reduction of 4 billion litres per year in terms of the Corporation’s Ground Water abstraction figures and the production of 7 billion litres of new water with over 400 dispensers for agricultural use. “An aggressive strategy intended to safeguard the water table for future generations.”

Major upgrades are also being undertaken on the sewage network and new sewage treatment technology is being introduced.

The Corporation said that it is implementing the “largest ever Cohesion funded project which will result in improved quality of life across Malta and Gozo.”

Richard Bilocca the WSC CEO explained “that such work would have never materialised hadn’t it been for the great work ethos of the Corporation’s workforce and the impressive synergy attained with the Department of Contracts, the EU Funds Managing Authority (PPCD), the Treasury, and other Government entities.”

This project is being coordinated by the Water Services Corporation and will be co-financed through EU Cohesion funds.

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