The rehabilitation of the closed landfills started in 2004, with the first project co-financed through the European Union Regional Development Fund (ERDF), benefitting from a budget of e8.8 million. The project included the construction of gas wells, pipe-works and gas treatment plants that would enable the collection and cleaning of hazardous gases, before allowing them to be released into the atmosphere.

This project introduced the latest technologies available, in order to minimise any negative environmental impacts of the Maghtab, Qortin and Wied Fulija landfills. The main benefits of the project are essentially the improvement of air quality on the Maltese Islands, by treating dangerous gases such as dioxins and methane, as well as the reduction of odours.

At the closed landfill near the Maghtab village, for example, around 380 wells were installed, with a depth of 12 metres, in order to collect these harmful gases by negative pressure. These were then all connected to a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO), which is a gas plant that treats these gases at around 1,100°C and releases them in the atmosphere in a state which is not dangerous. This process allows for the gradual conversion of the Maghtab site from a health hazard into a public recreational park. To this effect, an international competition inviting designs to determine the best possible development of the Maghtab site was organized by the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs. The winning designs were those of the German consortium Melitopia, which should be converting the old landfill into a recreational park.

This project is estimated to cost a further e30 million from EU funds and will be split into three phases. The landscaping along the cool and gas-free area in the vicinity to the edge bordering with the coast road has already started. Other areas are at an advanced stage of development to start having trees planted in the coming

months.