Underground water tunnels network to be completed by July next year

A network of underground water tunnels will be finished by July 2014, solving the island's perennial problem with flooding, Resources Minister George Pullicino said today. "This is the biggest infrastructural project this country has seen in a while," said Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who visited the site with Mr Pullicino. Dr Gonzi said this would go a long way in solving the problem of major flooding in Malta which had often lead to scenes of terror, loss of property and sometimes also deaths. All expert studies had shown this was the only way to solve the problem, he added. Dr Gonzi said a secondary benefit of the project would be the fact that a large amount of water would be stored instead of just thrown into the sea. Mr Pullicino said Malta would go from being able to store around 200,000 cubic metres of water to almost 1 million, with the addition of around 700,000 cubic metres added thanks to this project. The water would be stored to percolate slowly back into the ground and recharge the water table. The 17 kilometre project will cost €56 million but is being co-financed with the EU. It had also created 70 jobs, said Dr Gonzi, stressing the importance of capital...