In the space of a decade, Gżira has transformed from a little known village on the periphery of Malta’s commercial hubs to a cosmopolitan centre.

Lovin Malta spoke to Conrad Borg Manche, the mayor of Gżira who was brought up in the area, to gather his thoughts and opinion on the fast growth that the seaside town has faced.

“I think Gżira in the past was a peaceful place where we enjoyed our childhood. As children, we felt safe playing in the streets, in the gardens, or at Manoel Island,” the mayor recalled.

The mayor recounted a past Gżira, which to him felt safer and more peaceful than it is today, with a deep sense of community, and anyone his age or older would tell you the same.

“To be honest, being brought up in Gżira, I miss that sense of community. The land in Gżira became expensive, so many Gżirjani sold their properties to developers and moved to the south of Malta,” he explained.

He expressed how in many ways this was the last thing that he wanted for Gżira, saying that “I didn’t push for this to happen at all, but I couldn’t do anything to stop it either”. 

Gżira has gone through drastic changes, with an increase in construction, new restaurants popping up on the front, and many companies flocking to the area.

“Unfortunately, Gżira changed drastically, especially in the previous six years as Mayor. Gżira became a locality attracted by many developers due to the extra floors given, and at the same time, the demand from foreigners to live in Gżira exploded. From a small Maltese village, it changed to a touristic area with increased rented apartments and hotels,” the mayor explained.

He expressed that these changes have transformed the face of Gżira, both in terms of aesthetics and also in terms of demographics, explaining the change in numbers.

“To translate this change in figures, our population in the last six years increased by 50% from 8,000 to 12,000. However, when one delves into this change, one finds that the number of foreigners increased by 8,000, and the Maltese population decreased by 4,000. So now, for every Maltese resident, you find two foreigners living in Gżira. This resulted in a significant lack of sense of community which one could find ten years ago,” Manche outlined.

The safety that was once felt within a tightly knit community, does not seem to be that present anymore. The mayor explained himself how the overall atmosphere has just changed, and he often receives multiple complaints from residents.

“I say I felt safe in the past, but not any longer, as I receive many complaints from families who live next to or close to rented apartments. The tenants, primarily foreigners without any sense of respect, make noise till the early hours of the morning, creating a living hell for our families who still live in Gżira,” the mayor lamented.

He stressed that this is not fair on the locals at all, and explained how he has also applied for community policing which he thinks it’s undoubtedly needed for the locality.

Manche also shared some of the upcoming projects that the local council has in store for the locality, explaining his main aims as the mayor.

“My ultimate aim is to create more open spaces, reduce pollution and add greenery as much as I can. Gżira became the most densely populated area in Malta and, unfortunately, one of the most polluted. So it is evident that something has to be done in this respect. As a council, we have three EU projects to address these critical issues,” he said.

He also offered suggestions that can help in bettering the situation of the seafront, because as things currently stand, Gżira is being used as a bypass.

“The seafront, for instance, can be upgraded in a manner that is more pedestrian-oriented like most of the seafronts found in Europe. Unfortunately, as things stand, it is mainly dedicated to cars with a four-lane. Specific traffic management shall also take place to avoid Gżira being used as a bypass,” he explained.

“Gżira has contributed drastically to the Maltese economy, but no relative infrastructural investment was made in the locality in the last five decades except simply resurfacing of roads,” he continued.

He concluded by saying that he expects projects to enrich the area and the seafront should happen soon, to cater for the documented increase in population.

What do you make of this?