When Can We Swim at Għar Lapsi Again? Here's the Latest
Ask anyone who grew up in the south where they learned to swim, and there’s a good chance they’ll say Għar Lapsi. So when Storm Harry ripped through the little Siġġiewi bay in January, it felt deeply personal. Nine months on, the cove is still a building site, but a fresh update shows real progress.
In an update posted on 2 October, Mario Ellul, the Public Works Department architect leading the job, set out where things stand. Two of the most visible parts are now in place. The slipway that runs down to the water has been given a new shape, and the concrete platform beside it is back, rebuilt with prefabricated blocks.
That’s a long way from where things started. Crews first moved in during March, and the early weeks were spent digging trenches and hauling away what the storm left behind.
The next few weeks are about getting people back down to the sea. Rocks will be cleared and reshaped so the public walkway can be finished. A jetty and a brand new set of stairs are also on the list.
Then there’s the big one, a sea wall to keep the bay from taking another beating. This part of the job is happening from the water, with machinery sitting on barges and lifting the huge boulders Harry tossed around. Rather than carting them off, workers will line them up along the wall’s seaward side. There, they’ll take the first hit from incoming waves and help protect everything built behind them.
Away from the shoreline, new water and electricity mains are going in for the buildings dotted around the bay.
If you’re worried about the place losing its charm, there’s some comfort. The whole project carries a €2 million price tag, and it follows a public consultation called “Għar Lapsi, Back to the People”. The message from that exercise was that most people want the bay kept simple and as close to how it was as possible.
As for when we can swim there again, no reopening date has been given in the latest update, so hold off on packing the snorkel for now. Still, with the slipway and platform done and the wall underway, the bay is edging closer to welcoming swimmers back. We’ll be watching, towel at the ready.
