Importance and concerns
On Thursday, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg announced that four ‘infrastructural giants’ have submitted an offer to build the tunnel between Malta and Gozo.
The Gozo tunnel has been a topic of controversy for quite a while, mainly due to concerns that such a tunnel will lead to the overdevelopment of Gozo, similar along the lines of what happened in Malta.
Many Maltese enjoy travelling to Gozo during the summer to escape Malta’s high-rise hubs, attempting to escape the island’s traffic congestion, and to visit a more serene island with a lot of countryside.
For Gozitans, a tunnel makes sense, as it would mean that residents would no longer need to move to Malta for work, and it will help the Gozitan economy.
The Gozo Business Chamber welcomed the announcement regarding the four bidders, and said that the project is necessary. It noted that while it is in favour of all forms of accessibility, the fact that the link between the two islands will be a permanent one, “would ensure the required peace of mind to current potential investors and those who would like to live in Gozo permanently while working on the main island of Malta.”
It also said, however, that this project should be accompanied by a holistic plan ensuring the sustainable development of the island of Gozo, such as for example that the green belts between localities are retained, and that the unique character of each locality is preserved. The Chamber believes that the present Outside Development Zones (ODZ) in Gozo should not be touched. “Accessibility needs to be accompanied by a sustainable development approach.”
The problem with this is, of course, that planning laws are weak and the PA has often approved controversial developments. So then why would it act one way with Malta, and another with Gozo. The answer is, it won’t.
Gozo’s character in certain areas has already been affected. Just look at Marsalforn as an example of the kind of development allowed on the island, and this without the tunnel being present.
The government needs to seriously up its game in terms of planning laws. Hotchpotch construction, ugly looking apartment blocks and blank walls must be done away with. More stringent policies in favour of protecting heritage buildings, protecting a locality’s characteristics and above all protecting the environment must be the main considerations when it comes to approving a project or not, and this must take into more serious account the traffic situations that future projects will create. After all, living in a traffic congested road will affect all the resident’s health, not just the developer of a particular property.
The project of the tunnel itself will also be under heavy scrutiny from the public, given that so many major projects over the past years have been swamped in controversy with one scandal after another. Prime Minister Robert Abela will need to prove himself on this project, and ensure there is nothing questionable that will come out of this process, lest his credibility in this regard fall by the wayside like his predecessor’s did. He has already made some questionable statements during the pandemic crisis, he should not risk his credibility in this area.