A Proposal For Gozo’s Azure Window Memorial Has Finally Arrived, And It’s Anticlimactic AF
17 months after the Azure Window collapsed into the sea and nearly a whole year since the launch of a major international call for suggestions on how to memorialise the site, the Environment and Resource Authority has received only one proposal… and many people are disappointed, to say the least.
Following the call – which lasted from September 2017 to January 2018 – Newsbook reported that ERA only received one proposal. Submitted by Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli (who’s already involved in a number of projects around the islands), the proposal suggests the building of…
… wait for it…
A hotel.
To be fair, Portelli’s ambitious plan spans over 10 years of construction, and also mentions a number of other buildings.
Mainly concentrated on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model which would mean a collaboration with the government, the proposed negotiations with local authorities and residences would also see structures such as a Tourist Interpretation and Attraction Area, a diving centre, a sky observation centre, an interactive museum and a transport interchange hub being built. Oh, and let’s not forget that hotel.
In fact, in the proposed timeline of what would be called the Dwejra Heritage Park, Newsbook put the construction of the hotel as the penultimate step of the 10-year (and 10-step) plan.
Maintenance areas, control rooms and a multipurpose community spaces are also mentioned in the proposal.
Back in March 2017, the Maltese government had announced the international call for suggestions to memorialise the iconic window.
In an interview with Sky News, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had said that there was a “great deal of local and international interest” in the site and that the government would “proactively” assess all potential options.
After a couple of months, the government announced the call for proposals, adding that it wanted the site to be “adequately remembered”.
The government went as far as to give seven options it was willing to consider, amongst which were leaving the site as it was, recovering the window’s parts and putting them up in a museum of sorts, and having artistic installations or recreations of the structure.
What do you think of this proposal? Let us know in the comments below
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