Green wall stripped of dead plants a day after The Shift report

Large sections of the Marsa-Ħamrun bypass green wall have been cleared of vegetation, a day after The Shift reported that its latest revival withered within months.

The new scenario shows rows of empty planting cells across much of the wall. Strips of greenery remain, but the bare plastic structure is clearly visible again. The clearing followed The Shift’s report on the wall’s latest deterioration.

Infrastructure Malta promoted the wall’s renewed growth in March, following remedial works that included a new structure, planters and an upgraded irrigation system. By September, extensive stretches had turned brown.

Sources at the agency told The Shift that its experts had yet to determine whether inadequate maintenance, an irrigation failure, unsuitable plants or seasonal conditions were responsible.

The latest clearing removes the dead vegetation from view. However, IM has failed to explain why the plants failed so soon after the remedial works, or what Infrastructure Malta intends to put in the empty cells.

Steve Ellul, IM’s CEO, is also refusing to comment on the continuous waste of public funds.

The original €478,858 tender, awarded to The Doric Studio, covered installation, planting and five years of maintenance. A €56,250 variation took the recorded value above €535,000 before VAT.

The 350-metre wall, containing around 27,600 plants, was inaugurated in 2020.

In October 2024, Infrastructure Malta blamed the contractor for failing to meet its maintenance obligations and announced legal action to have the necessary work carried out at the contractor’s expense.

No corresponding court case has been publicly identified. The agency has also not clarified whether it pursued another form of legal action or reached a settlement. Nor has it disclosed the cost of the latest remedial works, who carried them out or who paid for them.