Developers confirm remedial works for collapsed Xemxija road expected to take ‘approximately two months’

Trivium Developments Ltd, the company building 44 apartments in a narrow road in Xemxija, currently surrounded by multiple construction sites, confirmed that remedial works for a collapsed road on its site were expected to take “approximately” two months to complete.

The collapse, which occurred on 3 April, the second collapse in a few weeks, rattled residents living in buildings near the site, with officials from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) scrambling to reassure them that the site was being secured.

Xemxija’s residents were already on high alert following a “controlled” collapse of a section of an old stone wall on the same site just a few weeks earlier.

“With regard to the first incident, it is important to clarify that this did not involve a collapse of rock or structural failure of the excavation face. The site already featured an existing excavation face, and works at the time were limited to trimming to the required excavation line,” a spokesperson for the company said.

“The old stone wall was being dismantled manually. Due to its unstable condition, the contractor determined that removing the final section by hand posed a safety risk. As a precaution, part of the rock beneath the wall was trimmed, and a bed of material was prepared below, allowing the remaining section of the wall to be brought down in a controlled manner,” the spokesperson added.

Referring to the remedial works following the road’s collapse, the spokesperson added that they were ongoing and expected to take “approximately two months to complete, subject to ongoing technical assessments and regulatory clearances.”

After assessing the elevated risk presented by the site’s inability to withstand additional strain, the developers’ architect, Kleaven Maniscalco, proposed drilling a platform below the road to provide a stable working surface for machinery and “allow for safer and more efficient execution, including the management of excavated material.”

“The works carried out consisted of trimming to the required excavation line and extending excavation in designated areas. Following recent developments, additional reinforcement works, including the installation of piles, will proceed in line with the latest technical assessments and in coordination with the relevant authorities,” the spokesperson added.

Triq is-Simar, a narrow road sandwiched between low-lying buildings, is now being realigned to make way for multiple major developments in an area known for unstable geological features.

At the site owned by Trivium Developments Ltd (owned by developers Joseph Portelli, Silvan Mizzi, and Kurt Polidano), the fragile geology, coupled with water ingress, further weakened the road’s stability, leading to its collapse.

The area currently features at least five developments spearheaded by major industry players. Their cumulative impact on nearby residents is significant, from noise to parking to concerns about the impact of such intense development in an area where the foundation has a high percentage of blue clay.

Since last year, The Shift has been reporting on the larger site owned by Polidano Group.

The pending application for the larger site, PA/4199/24, involves the excavation of five basement levels and the construction of a residential and commercial complex, with a total of 141 residential dwellings spread across 11 levels.

While that application is still undergoing preliminary screening by the PA, residents have questioned how Polidano Group has been allowed to irreversibly alter the site through the removal of trees, a process which exposed the bedrock that will need to be excavated if and when the project is approved.

On the other side of Triq is-Simar, on a site delineated by PA/1046/23, Polidano Group is set to develop 25 apartments, one duplex penthouse, 24 garages, and six stores, including pools servicing the residential units.

PA/2327/24, an application by Tum Invest, involves the demolition of terraced houses and a shop, excavation and construction of garages, and the construction of two retail outlets, five levels of apartments with recessed floors on levels 6 – 8 on one site, and an additional six levels of apartments with recessed floors on an adjacent site.

One of St Paul Bay’s local councillors, Rachel Williams, who was on site shortly after the road collapsed on 3 April, had informed residents that a meeting with the BCA was scheduled for the following week to address the collapse.

“The BCA said that they were actively monitoring the situation and have given the go-ahead for remedial works to be carried out,” Williams said when contacted after the meeting.

“However, my request to stop work while a geologist assesses the sites was refused. They said an independent geotechnical person was carrying out checks. No further details were given,” the local councillor added.

Reached for comment, Mayor Censu Galea added that the tiny locality of Xemxija was set for the addition of roughly 1,000 new residential units that have already been approved and another 400 – 500 units pending planning approval.

“While we oppose applications which are not in line with the relevant policies, the development proposed by Polidano Group is yet to enter representation stage,” the mayor said.

“I’m also informed that the developers are in the process of filing new plans that take into account the newly realigned road, and we will assess those plans when they are at public representation stage,” Galea added, noting that the council had already objected to the planning control application that allowed for the realignment of Triq is-Simar.

When asked about what kind of feedback he was receiving from Xemxija’s residents, the St Paul Bay mayor noted that residents were “alarmed” and that the council had received multiple phone calls from concerned individuals living in and around the area.

“They are worried not just about what happened, but also about what might happen. I asked the BCA to ensure that work is done as quickly as possible because leaving the site exposed to the elements would only make problems worse,” Galea added.

Overlapping connections

A closer look at the key individuals involved in the developments reveals significant overlapping connections.

Maniscalco, the architect responsible for Trivium Developments’ site, is additionally on Polidano Group’s payroll and on a BCA retainer worth €34,900.

Publicly available documents show that Maniscalco is also responsible for one of Polidano Group’s smaller developments in the area, PA/5161/25. Approved plans for the site envisage the excavation of four basement levels, two duplex maisonettes, five apartments, a duplex penthouse, and a pool.

As for his retainer with the BCA, Maniscalco is one of 15 architects and/or architectural firms subcontracted by the BCA to review method statements submitted to the Authority.

Maniscalco rejected the claim that his overlapping roles amounted to a conflict of interest.

“While I confirm that I review method statements in my role with the BCA, I cannot review my own method statements. If a method statement for one of my own applications ever came across my desk, I would have to declare a conflict of interest, after which it would be passed on to one of my other colleagues,” he said when contacted.