One of the oldest hotels in Malta is to be extended and restored, following the approval of a full development permit to build two additional wings at the Phoenicia Hotel.
The restoration of the hotel will include the revival of the facade, the addition of 41 bedrooms, a landscaped roof and a plan to restore the stable house in St John's Ditch. The estate covers an area of 40,000 square metres, of which only 3% is occupied by the main building.
The Malta Environment and Planning Authority board granted the permit against a bank guarantee of 50,000 euros. The applicant was also asked to pay 109,000 euros, to compensate for the loss of 52 parking spaces, to the Commuter Parking Payment Scheme, which is a fund used to construct car parks and other public transport facilities.
Plans for the construction of the Phoenicia Hotel commenced in 1935 and the British architect William Cryce Binnie was commissioned to oversee the project. The hotel was built on the outskirts of Valletta's main gate on the place-of-arms, a place situated outside of a fortified town where soldiers would accumulate for defence. The location was attacked during World War II; leaving part of the hotel badly damaged and thus delaying the opening date. The hotel eventually opened in 1947, and several alterations have been made since, including a new floor being added in the 1990s.
