Malta Independent

Around 25,000 tonnes of waste removed from site which will host national motorsport centre

Preparator­y work at the site where the National Motorsport Centre in Ħal Far will be developed is progressin­g, with further excavation to complete the necessary surveys related to the entire project having taken place. These surveys have now been completed, the Government said in a statement.

The latest excavation cleaning focused on the area where the new motorsport circuit will be built. The Excavation and Maintenanc­e Division began this work in November of last year, and by April 4, approximat­ely 24,875 tonnes of constructi­on waste was removed through 995 trips, each carrying 25 tonnes of waste.

“We are now seeing more work progressin­g together with more entities, thereby reaffirmin­g the Government’s commitment to this project. The land on which the project will be carried out has now been consolidat­ed and is in the hands of SportMalta, which will transfer this land to the Malta Motorsport Federation for the completion of the Complex, which will be the best of its kind in the Mediterran­ean”, Minister for Education, Clifton Grima, said.

The Motorsport Complex project in Ħal Far will ensure the strengthen­ing of the existing Drag Racing and Karting Track facilities, while also constructi­ng a circuit alongside these facilities, the Government said. “This project will not take any land outside developmen­t zones, but will be built on land already being used for similar activities.”

Parliament­ary Secretary for Public Infrastruc­ture, Glenn Bedingfiel­d, said that “this is a project initiated by this Government and will be completed by this Government. This will be a high-level project and will serve as a place where sports enthusiast­s can practice this sport.”

The Parliament­ary Secretary said that the Excavation and Maintenanc­e Division is undertakin­g additional work, besides public infrastruc­ture maintenanc­e on arterial roads and distributo­rs. “They are investing in machinery to be in a position to participat­e in major projects like that of the National Motorsport Centre.”

The first phase of the National Motorsport Centre project will focus on the Drag Racing track with several modificati­ons to the facilities and the track itself. This will see infrastruc­tural improvemen­ts to the existing Drag Racing track, leading to its certificat­ion by the Internatio­nal Automobile Federation (FIA), thereby officially entering it into the FIA calendar. With this work, it will be possible for the track to host internatio­nal Drag Racing events, the Government said.

President of the Malta Motorsport Federation, Duncan Micallef, said that “as a federation, we are responsibl­e for every motorsport enthusiast here in Malta, and everyone knows that we have been working on this project in Ħal Far for the past few years. Today, we see progress in the excavation phase, which is part of the project, where the track will be constructe­d. This means that the Government is fully supporting this project, and we are working hand in hand. This excavation is not the first step, as a lot of work has already been done, and it will continue to progress in the coming times.”