The Fisheries Department within the Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Environment has successfully finalised a project for new hard-standing facilities for the maintenance of the fishing vessels at Ponta tal-Qrejten, Marsaxlokk . This facility was opened officially on 7 July 2007.

The process included the reclamation of land from the sea, in order to construct the necessary facilities, the installation of two cranes, one of 50 tonnes and the other of 250 tonnes, to be used by fishermen for hauling and/or launching their vessels. This facility, spreading over 6500 square metres, is capable of housing sixteen vessels of twenty-two metres each.

The total cost of this project amounted to around two million Euros, 75 % of which was financed by the Financial Instrument for Fisheries and Guidance (FIFG-Structural Funds). The remaining 25 % was financed by the Maltese Government.

This successful project managed to reduce the running expenses of the fishermen and provided the necessary facilities for them to carry out the maintenance of their vessels themselves. These facilities are available for use by all Maltese-registered fishing vessels, as well as non-Maltese EU-registered fishing vessels.