The Minister for Gozo Clint Camilleri together with the Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi have launched a project through which three kilometers of rubble walls will be restored and rebuilt with the fields overlooking the Valley of -Ramla.
The project will be carried out by the Ministry for Gozo through the Eco-Gozo Directorate and is co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. They announced that this project is being funded by European funds amounting to just over € 2,200,000.
Minister for Gozo, Clint Camilleri, said that Ramla l-Ħamra is a place known both to the locals and to the Maltese and tourists, and one also needs to take care of the agricultural landscape. Therefore, continued Minister Camilleri, the rubble walls that have collapsed over time, and which are in poor condition will be rebuilt. Minister Camilleri explained that, “when completed, 8,900 cubic meters of rubble walls will be built and refurbished, while stating that the works to be carried out in the Ramla Valley area will extend from Triq ir-Ramla, Triq ta ‘Xurdin, Triq ta’ Għajn Ħosna, Triq l-Inżul tal-Franciżi, Triq ir-Ramla il-Ħamra to Daħla ta ‘Għajn Damma. ”
Parliamentary Secretary Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi said that this European-funded project will be preserving the national heritage in Gozo through the restoration of rubble walls as well as Roman stairs. He went on to say that the rubble walls, in addition to beautifying the Gozitan environment, have a function of preserving the soil and thus will be of benefit to the surrounding farmers. The Parliamentary Secretary concluded by saying that through this project we are respecting the ecology of the island of Gozo, while we are looking more closely at the historical and environmental heritage that this island is married to.
Part of this project also consists of 250 meters of Roman stairs where the Ramla valley, in the limits of Xaghra where restoration and cleaning works will be carried out.
