Project Description
When Self Government was achieved in 1921, the first general elections in Malta were held on 1 November that year. From 1921 to 1976 sessions were held at the Tapestries Chamber of the Grand Masters Palace, Valletta which became the seat of Malta’s first constitutional parliament after 120 years of direct British rule. In 1976, the former armoury of the Order of St. John within the same palace was converted into a new parliament.
As part of the Renzo Piano City Gate Project, implemented with the direct involvement of GHRC on behalf of the Maltese government, a new parliament building was constructed on the site of Freedom Square between 2010 and 2015.
Freedom square, situated at the very entrance of Valletta, until then served to hold sessions of Carnival and other events, a car park and for the Monti, an open-air market.
The demolition of the arcades of Freedom Square began in October 2010 including excavations and penetration into the old railway tunnel, and the main structure of the building was ready in 2012. The area was approximately 7000m2, in which some 12,000 cubic meters of the hard limestone quarried in Gozo, were cut into specific shapes in Italy and returned to Malta were used. Some 6500m2 of similar stone paving slabs were laid, commencing from the bridge across the ditch to Triq Nofs i-Nhar and Pjazza de Vallette, of which 2500 were used in part of the square and around the parliament building. The total workforce on the construction site amounted to between 120 and 150 workers daily, some even working at night.
The new parliament building was completed by the end of 2014 and estimated at the cost of around €70 million. It was inaugurated by the President of Malta on 4 May 2015.
Kamra tar–Rapreżentanti
Meta nkiseb is-Self Government fl-1921, l-ewwel elezzjonijiet ġenerali f’Malta saru fl-1 ta’ Novembru ta’ dik is-sena. Mill-1921 sal-1976 saru s-sessjonijiet kollha fil-Kamra tal-Arazzi tal-Palazz tal-Gran Mastri, il-Belt Valletta, li saret is-sede tal-ewwel parlament kostituzzjonali ta’ Malta wara 120 sena ta’ ħakma diretta Brittanika. Fl-1976, l-ex armerija tal-Ordni ta’ San Ġwann fi ħdan l-istess palazz ġiet ikkonvertita f’parlament ġdid.
Bħala parti mill-Proġett ta` Renzo Piano għad-daħla tal-Belt, bejn l-2011 u l-2015 inbena bini ġdid għal-parlament fl-ispazju ta’ Pjazza Ħelsien. Sa dak iż-żmien, il-pjazza kienet isservi biex isiru sessjonijiet ta’ Karnival u avvenimenti oħra, parkeġġ u għall-Monti jew suq fil-miftuħ. Dan kien progett iehor, li l-implimentazzjoni tieghu, kienet fdata f’idejn il-GHRC.
It-twaqqigħ tal-arkati u ħwienet fi Pjazza Ħelsien beda f’Ottubru 2010 inkluż skavi u penetrazzjoni ġol-mina l-antika tal-ferrovija. L-istruttura ewlenija tal-bini kienet lesta fl-2012 li okkupat madwar 7000 metru kwadru, li fiha mal-12,000 metru kubu tal-ġebla tal-franka tal-qawwi estratti f’Għawdex kienu użati, li xi wħud nqatgħu f’forom speċifiċi fl-Italja u rritornati Malta. Tqiegħdu mal-6500 metru kubu ta’ ċangaturi ta` ġebel simili, li jibdew mill-pont li jaqsam il-foss sa Triq Nofs i-Nhar u Pjazza de Vallette, li minnhom 2500 intużaw f’parti mill-pjazza u l-bini madwar il-parlament. In-numru ta` ħaddiema fuq is-sit waqt il-kostruzzjoni kienet tammonta għal bejn 120 u 150 ħaddiem kuljum, xi wħud anke jaħdmu bil-lejl. Il-bini l-ġdid tal-parlament tlesta sal-aħħar tal-2014 u stmat li jiswa madwar €70 miljun, u kien ġie inawgurat mill-President ta’ Malta fl-4 ta’ Mejju 2015.
