Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg and Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning Aaron Farrugia visited the Marsa-Ħamrun Bypass site, where new developments for the vertical garden, a collaborated project carried out by Infrastructure Malta and Ambjent Malta, were announced.
This project is a part of the €500,000 investment in the Marsa-Ħamrun Bypass, a project carried out on a timeframe of three years. A total of 27,600 plants are expected to be planted in order to give life to the longest vertical garden in Malta, on a wall 350 meters long, the size of three football stadiums, which was built in 2018.
Minister Ian Borg said, “This project continues to showcase this government’s constant commitment with a clear vision to offer the best possible sustainability. Thanks to this project, the Maltese will benefit from cleaner and greener air, and it will further provide an aesthetic site to be enjoyed by the thousands of vehicles that travel in these zones. We are committed to proceeding with our plans to create even more projects of this kind to drive Malta to more sustainable growth with regards to health and air quality, whilst also introducing the concept of integrating art into people’s lives.”
The project contractors started installing the specialised structure that is supporting this green wall last Summer. The structure was specifically designed to reduce the risk of damage to the concrete retaining wall, whilst making use of eco-friendly, recyclable materials. The system also incorporates an automatic drip irrigation system connected to a large reservoir, which Infrastructure Malta built in the grounds of an adjacent school when the Marsa-Ħamrun Bypass was rebuilt in 2018. The contractors also installed security cameras to deter theft and vandalism.
Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning Aaron Farrugia said that, following the completion of the Marsa-Ħamrun Bypass road infrastructure project by Infrastructure Malta, for this initiative, Ambjent Malta forwarded a proposal to Infrastructure Malta for the installation of Malta’s first green wall in the island’s road network.
Minister Farrugia explained that Ambjent Malta is financing the project and providing assistance for its implementation. The total cost of the project financed by Ambjent Malta is €650,000. The costs include an integrated water delivery system and maintenance costs for at least five years. The Minister said that the Intelligent Planning Consultative Forum prepared a study on green walls and green roofs, which found that these could bring a number of benefits to our country.
“Green walls provide multiple benefits in urban areas. They serve as potential ecological stepping-stones for insects and pollinators between rural and urban environments, reduce noise pollution, contribute to cooler micro-climates, reduce air pollution, and improve the experience of those who live and work in urban areas,” Minister Farrugia said.
Infrastructure Malta is also working with the Institute for the Creative Arts of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) to introduce an outdoor art gallery in another section of the same wall at the Marsa-Ħamrun Bypass. This outdoor gallery will include large-scale artwork prints created by the Institute’s fine arts students and lecturers. Eventually, this space will also be made available to other local and international artists, bringing art closer to the people as they travel past them every day. The first new artworks will be installed at this location next.
