MDA reaches agreement with quarry owners

The Malta Developers Association (MDA) said yesterday that it had reached an agreement with a number of quarry owners to open up their sites for the disposal of construction waste, adding that it was struggling to to contain the established charges.

Amid a shortage of space for the dumping of construction waste, made worse by the unprecedented construction boom, the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) last week said it had granted environmental permits to ten quarries to start receiving building waste.

An environment ministry spokesperson told The Malta Independent that developers wishing to dispose of their construction waste would need to pay the permit holders to do so. The government has offered a 25 per cent tax rebate to operators who charge less than €5.50 per tonne of waste.

The MDA said yesterday that it was trying to find a temporary solution to the problem of construction waste disposal while trying to avoid an increase in charges. It said it was fully aware that an increase in such charges would lead to yet another increase in construction costs – something that needed to be avoided.

While acknowledging that this was only a temporary solution, MDA said it was committed to co-operating with the authorities – in consultation with quarry owners and other interested parties – to seek a more permanent solution to this problem, which the construction industry has been facing for a long time.