7,000 use the new Barrakka Lift

Some 7,000 people used the new Barrakka lift yesterday. The new lift was inaugurated on Saturday evening by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt. Patrons can use it free of charge until the end of the year. Many of those who used it yesterday commented that it was smooth and very fast by local standards. It takes 25 seconds to go up or down. Among those who used the lift on its first day yesterday was a man who recalled how he had used the former lift on its last day, in 1973. Another man pointed out that a signboard from the old lift, fixed close to the new one, is pointing in the wrong direction. But a spokesman for the Infrastructure Ministry said that signboard was put there only for the inauguration ceremony and will be relocated. Visitors yesterday also praised the way how Lascaris Ditch in the approaches to the lift opposite the old Customs House has been cleaned and rehabilitated.