Malta’s Planning Authority has granted planning permission for AX Group’s new five-star hotel and luxury terraces project in Rabat, the company has announced.

The permit will allow AX Group to demolish the existing “dilapidated’ Grand Hotel Verdala and redevelop it into The Verdala Hotel and Verdala Terraces Project, “to achieve a better skyline and urban setting”, the Group claims in a statement released on Thursday.  

The proposed development will be spread over six floors above the highest street level and two levels below. Its proposed uses include residential units, retails units, and hotel facilities, with a garage making provision for 176 cars.

AX Group insists that the project will have a positive impact on the surrounding environment: “By reducing the overall height from the existing hotel by almost two storeys, the development will blend more harmoniously with the promontory”.

“A system of terraces and voids on the ridge side of the building will mimic the natural forms of the rock strata, whilst the back elevations will have greater solidity to tie into the traditional façade typology found in the surrounding streets”.

The company adds that it expects the project to open up around 2350m^2 of formerly developed space to the public through the introduction of public plazzas and open spaces.