Latest green wall revival withers within months as legal action remains a mystery

The controversial green wall along the Marsa–Ħamrun bypass has turned brown again, less than six months after Infrastructure Malta promoted its revival with social media posts of blooming plants.

A picture taken this week shows extensive stretches of brown, apparently dried vegetation. Some greenery remains, but the installation has visibly deteriorated since March, when Infrastructure Malta CEO Steve Ellul celebrated its return following another taxpayer-funded intervention.

Sources at Infrastructure Malta told The Shift that the agency’s experts have not yet established whether the latest deterioration was caused by inadequate maintenance, an irrigation failure, unsuitable plants or seasonal conditions.

However, they acknowledged that the revival of the costly project has proved short-lived.

The original €478,858 tender was awarded to The Doric Studio, owned by architect Frank Muscat. It covered the installation, planting and five-year maintenance of the 350-metre vertical garden.

Government procurement records also list a €56,250 variation under the same tender reference, taking its recorded value above €535,000 before VAT.

Containing some 27,600 plants, the wall was inaugurated in 2020 and promoted as a new “green lung” for the heavily polluted area. It subsequently deteriorated into an expanse of dead vegetation and exposed green plastic.

In October 2024, Infrastructure Malta blamed The Doric Studio for failing to fulfil its maintenance obligations. The agency announced legal action intended to ensure that the necessary work was carried out at the contractor’s expense.

Yet no corresponding court case against The Doric Studio has been publicly identified.

Infrastructure Malta has never clarified whether it sent a judicial letter, initiated arbitration, reached an out-of-court settlement or abandoned the threatened proceedings.

The agency subsequently announced extensive remedial works involving a new structure, planters and an upgraded irrigation system. It did not disclose who performed the work, how much it cost or whether the original contractor – or taxpayers – covered the expense.

The wall was shown blooming again in March 2026 as Infrastructure Malta promoted its apparent revival.

Its condition less than six months later is raising fresh questions about the project’s sustainability and the effectiveness of the remedial works.