A concrete path in the Dwejra countryside is to be removed and resurfaced using sustainable material approved by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.
Back in February, the Superintendence had halted the works and was in talks with Infrastructure Malta “to determine the way forward”.
Heritage pressure group Friends of the Victoria Lines Trail said on Friday that the Superintendence had now approved a revised methodology to relay the old path which is in a deteriorated state.
The group had previously said that the road is a “historical military path built to serve the Dwejra Lines, of which it forms an integral element.”
Infrastructure Malta has built more than roads but also a reputation for having a dubious relationship with the rules.
Jessica Arena looks at the evidence.
When Infrastructure Malta swooped down recently on a quiet residential road in Żebbuġ and started to widen it, the action raised the ire of residents, as well as environmentalists, who held that the works breached all road policies.
This reaction was hardly a first for the government agency that oversees construction projects.
Since its founding in the summer of 2018, IM has prided itself on getting things done. But the way it steamrolls ahead with some of its projects has drawn heavy criticism, particularly on environmental grounds.
The countryside path paved over with cement at Dwejra is not just a country lane but “a historical military path built to serve the Dwejra Lines, of which it forms an integral element”, Friends of the Victoria Lines Trail said.
“As such, it is part of the officially designated Victoria Lines buffer zone and therefore subject to specific provisions for its protection,” they said in a statement.
The path has been paved over with cement in a move described as “disgusting” and a “grave injustice” to Malta’s culture and environment.
An aerial view of the Victoria Lines taken in 1996. Photo: Friends of the Victoria Lines Trail
Works paving over a country lane in Dwejra with cement have been halted after the intervention of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.
Last week, ramblers and hobbyists decried the works, saying they prioritised vehicles to the detriment of pedestrians and further contributed to biodiversity loss.
Superintendent Kurt Farrugia confirmed with
Times of Malta that the SCH had last week put a stop to works on the site and that talks with Infrastructure Malta were ongoing “to determine the way forward”.
On Friday, heritage NGO Friends of the Victoria Lines Trail said that the road was not simply a country lane but “a historical military path built to serve the Dwejra Lines, of which it forms an integral element.”