Horsing around at Sant’Antnin park

A shaggy-haired Shetland pony rubbed its nose against a little girl’s hand in the equestrian area as families wandered round the other attractions on offer at the newly opened Sant’Antnin family park in Marsascala yesterday. The recreational park, flanked by Inspire Foundation’s complex and the Sant’Antnin waste treatment plant, is spread over 80 tumuli of land. The area was used as a dumpsite during the 1970s. A €7 million project that included rehabilitation and upgrading works, co-financed by the EU, turned the landfill into a leisure park, employing 250 people in the process. Speaking at the inauguration yesterday, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that a five-year legislature was enough to turn good land into a dumping site, as had happened in the past. “In five years, however, we managed to transform a landfill into good land,” he said, to loud applause. With careful management, he added, one could also make good use of waste. He pointed out that Inspire’s swimming pool was being heated for free from the energy generated by the adjacent waste treatment plant, saving over €30,000 a year. Resources Minister George Pullicino said another €28 million would be invested so that...