The government is investing in a living green wall at Kordin Industrial Estate to further enhance the area of Kordin and its surroundings through the creation of a better atmosphere for the community, improved air quality and to serve as a noise barrier.
This was announced by Minister for the Economy and Industry Silvio Schembri and Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning Aaron Farrugia, while on a visit to the ongoing project in Paola.
Minister Aaron Farrugia explained that the ministry, through Ambjent Malta, invested €150,000 in this green wall and has committed a further €7,500 for its maintenance for a period of five years.
“We are working on a number of green walls around Malta, and for good reason,” the Minister said, explaining that the Intelligent Planning Consultative Forum have prepared a study on green walls and green roofs, which found that these could bring a number of benefits to our country, especially in urban areas.
“Green walls can reduce pollutants and toxic particles from the air, decrease the heat island effect, increase sound insulation, and provide a habitat for biodiversity. Indeed, apart from their aesthetic beauty, green walls have many environmental benefits,” Minister Farrugia said.
Minister Farrugia said that the ministry will continue to invest in green urban projects and has made agreements with INDIS to work on similar installations in other areas, and is also open to financing green wall projects by local councils. He encouraged local councils to look into greener projects and into utilising various funding schemes at their disposal, including Ambjent Malta schemes, as well as the Planning Authority’s (PA) Development Planning Fund (DPF), which has recently undergone an environmental reform to support more green projects in our localities.
“With an investment of around €500,000 on the green walls pilot project, we are giving a greener appearance to three industrial zones; the Kordin, Mosta and Marsa areas, to operate and offer a better quality environment for workers in the area. Hence, against the background of this success, we will see that this project will be implemented elsewhere, including Ta’ Qali Crafts Village, Ta’ Dbiegi and Malta Industrial Parks to eventually move among residents in the Maltese and Gozitan villages and communities,” said Minister Schembri.
Minister Schembri explained how the green wall project in the Kordin industrial area is not only of visual benefit, but also of an environmental benefit. In fact, various scientific studies have shown that on average 1 square metre of green wall absorbs circa 2.3 kg of CO2 from the air and produces 1.7 kg of oxygen annually. When one considers that an average-sized tree absorbs 20 kg of carbon dioxide annually, this green wall at Kordin will be absorbing around 563kg of CO2, equivalent to 28 high-trunk trees.
“We are now seeing that this project will be eventually implemented in villages and communities to be enjoyed by residents as well, something I will be pushing forward. This is also because, while such projects are strongly demonstrating their benefits, at the same time they are creating new jobs, known as green jobs, that even INDIS, Ambjent Malta and as a government, we will be driving forward in the implementation of such industrial projects,” Minister Schembri said.