Europe Malta (Commonwealth Union) – The project is carried out with Heritage Malta and the Water Services Corporation joining hands.
Heritage Malta was given the ask from the Water Services Corporation to digitize a collection of over 15,000 historic plans in the local water services.
The large-format plans, go back more than 100 years, map the pipe systems, water pumping stations, boundaries, and public works as well as planning across Malta along with Gozo.
Under the management of Heritage Malta’s Technology and Experience Development Unit, the recently concluded project is set to furnish the Water Services Corporation with seamless digital access to mission-critical information vital for its day-to-day operations. This initiative will not only expedite searches, providing instantaneous access to archives, but also serve as a safeguard for the delicate original plans, which are prone to damage.
A comprehensive update on the project’s advancement was presented by Anthony Cassar, the Head of the Technology and Experience Development Unit, during a visit to the unit. This visit was graced by the presence of Owen Bonnici, the Minister for the National Heritage, the Arts, and Local Government, and Miriam Dalli, the Minister for the Environment, Energy, and Enterprise. The occasion also witnessed the attendance of key figures including Noel Zammit and Karl Cilia, the Chief Executive Officers of Heritage Malta and the Water Services Corporation respectively, along with Mario Cutajar, the Chairperson of Heritage Malta.
Minister Owen Bonnici indicated that the scanning of the plans was only workable as a result of the large-format, high-resolution archiving scanner that was present at Heritage Malta. Apart from scanning the plans themselves, the project further entails scanning the pencil annotations on the plans as indicated in a statement. “These annotations are of great importance as they often bear crucial information and comments that help planners and researchers better interpret the plans,” explained Minister Bonnici.
