Will government foot the bill for tunnel crucial to db Group’s development?

It is still unclear whether it will be the government or db Group which will be paying for the construction of a tunnel and other surrounding infrastructure crucial to the development of the company’s project at the former ITS site, despite the case officer only recommending the approval of the project once “a letter of commitment by either the government or the applicant with regards to the implementation of the necessary transport infrastructure.”

The same case officer’s report notes that without the necessary infrastructure, the development will “exceed the limitations of the existing highway junctions and lead to an unacceptable increase in air emissions.”

The report does seem to indicate that it will be the government who will be required to pay the bill, with the Planning Directorate Advisory Team noting that:

“Transport Malta needs to approve the proposed road infrastructure and commit the Transport Authority for its construction in accordance with the projected time-frames in the TIS or suggest alternative solutions.”

In the past, sources from both the government and db Group have provided the newsroom with conflicting accounts, with both insisting that they themselves would not foot the bill for the project, doing little to quash the concerns that the project could be completed without the construction of the tunnel.

It should be noted that the agreement between the government and db Group clearly says that it is the government which should cover the expense.

Last June, The Malta Independent on Sunday was informed that the “government was still in discussions to see which financial formula should be applied for the development.”

The government had been discussing with the relevant stakeholders how to finance the construction of the tunnel, and whether it should be db Group itself, all the developers (including db) who are currently reaping the benefits off of the Paceville and St Julian’s area, or a joint effort between the developers and government. However, nothing seems to have materialised.

TIA puts forward road network based on TM and developer’s plans

The tunnel was found to be the best solution for the traffic issues in the Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) for the project, which covered a radius of three kilometres, rather than the widening of roads (due to the negative effects it would have on Nature 2000 sites) or other alternatives).

The tunnel would start near the development and mostly pass under an existing road (Mediterranean Street), joining a planned road which will be located near the Chinese embassy, connecting Pembroke and the Coast Road.

It is believed that a roundabout and a flyover will be constructed over the infamous junction with Suffolk Street, connecting to the TEN-T comprehensive network along Triq San Andrija (between Paceville and the Ibraġ traffic signal junctions).

In the report, TM said that it “is fully cognisant of the fact that this section of TEN-T road network will clearly become a major traffic bottleneck by 2025 unless major road improvements are carried out in the area.”

In fact, the TIA has put forward a road network based on both TM and the developer’s plans, possibly hinting at a joint-venture.

Questions sent to the Office of the Prime Minister and db Group were unanswered by the time of publication.