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A Park Will Actually Be Built Over Regional Road In Major Urban Greening Move For Malta

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A park will be built over the Regional Road, right after the Santa Venera tunnels, environment minister Jose Herrera announced today.

“The government has invested quite a lot in the environments of non-urban zones but we need to do more in urban zones,” Herrera told a political rally today.

He said the project, which will include parking areas, will cost over €20 million and will be coordinated by both his ministry and the Transport Ministry.

“A tunnel should have been built over there, but instead Santa Venera was split in two at great prejudice to its residents,” Herrera said. “Not only have Santa Venera residents been denied open spaces, but they have to deal with a lot of air contamination and noise due to the traffic.”

Herrera also confirmed that a draft law will be published by the end of August, which will empower both the Planning Authority and the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) to impose urban greening initiatives on large projects.

“It’s useless to say we want urban greening initiatives if ERA isn’t given such tools,” he said.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat pledged that his administration’s focus has shifted significantly towards the creation of new open spaces where people can relax.

“I believe there’s a strong rationale for why we should develop new open spaces and environment spaces,” he said. “In my opinion, environmental spaces should be accessible. This doesn’t mean they should include shops and commercial activities but that they should be areas where families can go for a picnic.”

“While Malta’s economy has been forecasted to grow at a faster rate than all other EU countries, man cannot live on bread alone. More and more people are telling us that while they are thankful of their economic progress, their priorities have now shifted.”

READ NEXT: Maltese Nature Gets A Rare Win: Planned Freeport Site Will Become A Huge Garden With 8,000 Trees

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

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