Infrastructure Malta’s late move on abandoned ‘green wall’ irks public

An announcement by Infrastructure Malta regarding the revival of a €500,000 green wall along the Marsa-Hamrun bypass, which has been left abandoned for months, has sparked a deluge of sarcasm, criticism, and allegations of impropriety from numerous commentators on social media.

Just two days after The Shift reported on the neglect of the green wall, installed in 2021 at a cost of half a million euro and now left abandoned except for green plastic mesh, Infrastructure Malta issued a notice stating that the area would be closed for three weeks during the night to replenish the wall.

According to the government’s roads agency, managed by Steve Ellul, a former Labour MEP candidate, the entire project will be redone, including installing a new irrigation system, new plants, and other amenities.

Ellul did not clarify who would be carrying out the work, which contractor has been selected, or whether the original contractor—who was paid €500,000—would be covering the costs for the plans to replace the failed project.

This initiative was met with significant backlash, with the public taking to social media to criticize Infrastructure Malta for its “incompetence” and “waste of public funds.”

Some commenters argued that the project should be abandoned altogether and the area restored to its previous condition, saying such green walls are unsuitable for Malta’s hot climate.

Others expressed concerns about the funding for the new initiative, sarcastically asking Infrastructure Malta to reveal which contractor would be “profiting” from the latest efforts and whether “any commissions” would be involved.

Conversely, some individuals defended the government, urging Ellul to “remove everything since the Maltese always complain about whatever is done.”

The 350-meter-long wall was implemented during the reconstruction of the major thoroughfare. It was inaugurated with great fanfare in 2021 and touted as a “new green lung” for a heavily polluted area frequented by thousands of commuters daily.

The project was awarded to The Doric Studio, an architectural firm owned by architect Frank Muscat, a contractor frequently used by the government, primarily through direct orders.

Last year, after the wall was abandoned and its initially lush green plants deteriorated into an eyesore, Infrastructure Malta announced it would begin legal proceedings against the contractor. No court case has yet been registered.

In the meantime, the wall has remained deserted for months, effectively becoming a green plastic eyesore. Neither Ellul nor his minister, Chris Bonett, has answered questions about the status of their promise to sue the contractor.