Mriehel industrial zone becomes ‘Central Business District’

The industrial zone of Mrieħel will now be known as a Central Business District as the next step in its revitalisation, in an effort to create new business opportunities and to regenerate the area, the government announced yesterday.

“Mrieħel is a major business district with 6,000 employees spending a majority of their time in the area and thousands of consumers frequently visiting the 250 shops and businesses operating from it. These enterprises are made up of different-sized businesses and hail from various sectors offering different services. Mrieħel however, is currently synonymous with congestion and confusion.”

During the launch, Economy Minister Chris Cardona stressed that, “what we do and implement today, now more than ever because of our growing economy, is crucial. Malta must realise of a business district of high quality. Mrieħel needs a vision for the next decade and beyond.”

This vision was cemented early last year by means of the establishment of the Mrieħel Business Foundation, which will be taking the name of the district and becoming the Central Business District Foundation. This foundation is a Public-Private Partnership between the Government and the private sector, made up of operators in the area. The private sector has reacted positively to this initiative with members having increased to 30 from an initial 18 founders.

Chairperson of the Foundation William Wait insisted that, “many operators have invested a substantial amount of capital. Without a doubt, our work as a Foundation is to see that the investment made by the private sector finds a suitable environment to operate in. This includes responsibility for the establishment of a deserving environment.”

The foundation is responsible for ensuring and implementing a long-term vision for Mrieħel, while priorities for alleviating problems for both employers as well as employees have been established. The work of the foundation has so far included; the adoption of internal policies and procedures for improved governance; a cleansing campaign through which more than 167 tonnes of waste was collected; a pilot project for waste collection; repairs on street lights, and; the maintenance of strongly debilitated road stretches in the area.

Among the projects already underway and which will be carried out soon are: a Regeneration Plan that will be open for consultation to provide a framework of how this area should develop; traffic management which includes a public transport service, the introduction of new roads and enforcement of regulations; works on a bid to achieve the best solution for LED Street Light (Saving Energy project) and a centralised CCTV system; the imminent launching of a project with the help of the Storm Water Unit and under the direction of the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects aimed at addressing the issue of water catchment.

Chief Executive of the Foundation Keith Fenech outlined how progress will include the enforcement of rules and regulations as well as the updating of accessibility to Mrieħel, so that it is regenerated as a district one would be proud to operate from and which encourages entrepreneurship and professionalism.

Minister Cardona concluded by stating that, “the progress of this project will be based on the energy and passion expressed by foundation members. The positive energy and passion demonstrated so far make us optimistic about the future of Mrieħel.”