1 comment.€1.5 million civic centre project launched for Xaghra
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A new €1.5 million civic centre project for Xaghra has been launched, through an agreement with the Ministry for Gozo and the Xaghra Local Council.
Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri explained that the Ministry will be financing this project with the aim of being able to provide government services in a more efficient and accessible way. This while the council will be taking care of the works on this centre. Currently, the building incorporates the local council offices, the police station, the health clinic, public toilet facilities as well as a garage. The Minister explained that they are ”dilapidated and inaccessible because of there being no lift, only stairs.”
He went on to say that, through this project, the police station and clinic will be at street level and a lift will be built to access the local council on the first floor and the community hall which will be built at the top. The whole building will be modern and accessible. A tender is to be issued in the near future to demolish the entire structure and rebuild it.
”The Ministry for Gozo is always committed to ensuring that localities are accessible to the public and that they are well maintained,” the Minister said. ”That is why accessibility is being given priority in this project. ” He also pointed out how aesthetically this project will also be complementing the buildings on this street.
Xaghra Mayor Christian Zammit thanked the Minister ”for understanding the importance of this project and expressed his appreciation to the Ministry for Gozo which will finance this necessary project for Xaghra and Xaghrin.”
Also present was the Architect Edward Scerri who explained from a technical point of view the details of this project.
All work related to this project should be completed by the end of 2024, the Minister said.
First of all my congratulations to Minister Camilleri and Xaghra Mayor Mr. Zammit for this substantial endeavour, I am also very pleased with the chosen Architect Edward Scerri who has always given us magnificent results.
Yet, and there is always a ‘yet’, why does it have to take so long to complete it? With all new machinery, cranes and automatic cement mixtures, prefabricated roofs and materials! It shouldn’t take that time. Go some years back and see the record breaking time of doing the Mediterranean Center! I believe that the tender should be offered for a Master Builder and the Minister should have the possibility to send builders from his many departments to help get this job done in much less time.
The elderly 60+ and more +++ have a different concept of time. A year could mean like 10 years for someone who is in the dying phase. Because let’s face it, we have childhood, Teenage hood, Adult hood, 3rd age hood, and Dying hood. Death should not be one moment but some glorious years one lives preparing for that moment especially completing his or her Bucket list. Now you are asking the Xaghra and Xaghrin to spend the equivalent of 30 years to live (2022-2024) in noise, mess blocked roadways and so on. I feel the time can be greatly shortened with planning and putting more workforce in it.