Naxxar Construction Nightmare: 110 Inspections, €17k in Fines

Imagine this: you’re a construction company, you’ve got a site in Naxxar, and you’re inspected 110 times in just over a year. Now, imagine getting fined seven times during those inspections. This isn’t a nightmare scenario for one particular company, but a reality that’s been playing out in our very own backyard.

Between January 2021 and November 2022, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) carried out 110 inspections on a construction site in Naxxar. The site, located on Triq il-Kbira, has been the subject of numerous complaints from residents and environmental activists. The inspections resulted in seven enforcement notices being issued, with fines totalling €17,000.

But this isn’t just about one site or one company. It’s about a system that’s failing to protect our environment and our quality of life. It’s about a construction industry that seems to be operating under different rules than the rest of us.

So, what’s causing all these inspections and fines? A quick look at the enforcement notices reveals a litany of offenses: illegal dumping, exceeding permitted working hours, failure to implement environmental management plans, and even operating on public holidays. It’s a laundry list of environmental and planning violations that have turned the lives of Naxxar residents into a daily struggle.

But it’s not just Naxxar. Similar scenes are playing out across Malta. From St. Julian’s to Żurrieq, construction sites are disrupting lives, flouting regulations, and turning our islands into one big, never-ending construction site.

Clearly, something needs to give. We can’t continue to operate under a system where construction companies are allowed to flout regulations with impunity. We can’t continue to allow our environment and our quality of life to be sacrificed on the altar of progress.

But what can we do? For starters, we need stricter enforcement of existing regulations. We need MEPA to be given the resources and the political will to carry out its mandate. We need construction companies to be held accountable, not just with fines, but with real consequences that will make them think twice before breaking the rules.

And we, as citizens, need to make our voices heard. We need to keep complaining, keep protesting, keep pushing for change. Because this isn’t just about one site in Naxxar. It’s about our future, our environment, and our quality of life.

As one Naxxar resident told me, “It’s like living in a war zone. The noise, the dust, the constant disruption. It’s not just about the environment, it’s about our health, our sanity.” It’s time we start treating these issues with the urgency they deserve.