The Malta Independent on Sunday
DEADLY NADUR-M{ARR ROAD
Preliminary works tender still in appeal stage, no date for completion
The tender for preliminary works on a road leading from Nadur to Mġarr in Gozo is still in the appeal stage, the Ministry for Gozo has confirmed, despite having announced that works would start a year ago.
In September last year, Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana had announced, in an on-site press conference, that works were to start and that the road’s foundations would be rebuilt and utilities channelled underground before a new surface was laid.
A tender by negotiated procedure for the reconstruction and resurfacing of part of Mġarr Road was issued in June 2018. According to the tender document, the works had to be carried within four months from the date of order to start works.
According to the law, a negotiated procedure means the process through which contracting authorities consult the economic operators of their choice and negotiate the terms of a contract with one or more of these.
The tender was awarded to Road Construction Company Limited, Gozo’s leading contractors, for the price of €652,207.
Two months later, the same road was closed off after a section caved in. The ministry had then said in reports to the media that complications had arisen and more studies were needed to ensure the road was properly built.
It was reported that the winning contractor had closed off the road to minimise the evident danger. When asked by this newsroom if works on the road had actually commenced in September and, if so, why they were halted, the ministry did not reply.
In a Facebook post in January 2019, however, Minister Caruana said the road would be built from scratch and that the project was proceeding as planned. The post included a picture of part of the road that had been dug up.
The Malta Independent on Sunday went to the area and found that the road is still closed off and no workers were seen on site. One-way signs appear along the road, as well as several diversion signs. Sources have told this newsroom that no works have been carried out on the road for about a year.
Last May, a tender for ‘the preliminary ground investigation for Mġarr-Għajnsielem Bypass’ was issued. The subject of this tender is the ground investigation to provide a preliminary understanding of ground conditions along the route of the proposed bypass to the road that currently links Mġarr Harbour to Għajnsielem.
The tender does not include any works other than the ground investigation. When asked about the progress of the tender, the ministry confirmed that the tender was being awarded, and was in fact in the appeal stage. When asked why it had taken so long for the tender to be issued following the announcement to the media in November that more studies were required, the ministry did not reply.
“The road works involved are a total road build-up and is a multimillion project. Considering that road works have been due for decades and considering the terrain challenges, geotechnical investigations had to be carried out,” the ministry told this newsroom. “This enabled us to design a long-term project and address the issue permanently and secure peace of mind for the Nadur residents.”
Once the commencement order of the tender is issued, the total performance period of the tender is 24 weeks, according to the tender document.
Ministry ‘seriously worried’ about accidents on this road
On 22 August 2019, Minister Caruana had said in a Facebook post that the ministry was ‘seriously worried’ about the accidents occurring on this road. She said that the ministry, along with the approval of Transport Malta, was working on a traffic management plan, which has already been implemented.
This followed the death of a woman involved in a two-car collision on the same road on 16 August 2019.
According to information issued by Interior Minister Michael Farrugia in Parliament earlier this year, there was one fatality and 84 other people injured on Mġarr Road between Għajnsielem and Xewkija, between 2013 and 31 March 2019.
When asked when actual works (not studies) would commence and when the road project would be completed, the ministry did not reply.
Bigger and immediate investment needed for roads in Gozo - Clint Camilleri
Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and Fisheries Clint Camilleri also said in a Facebook post last week that bigger and immediate investment was necessary for a number of roads to be built from scratch in Gozo, including Nadur, which had been left to deteriorate for a number of years. Camilleri, who is from Gozo, appealed for Infrastructure Malta to be ‘allowed’ to work in Gozo. The roads agency, which he said was changing the face of Malta’s roads with efficiency and professionalism, is not responsible for Gozo’s road infrastructure.
Farmers cannot access the fields - Chris Said
Gozo PN spokesperson Chris Said explained that the road starts off in Nadur and ends at the Mġarr port, making it the main road leading to the port. For this reason, he noted, the road falls under the responsibility of the central government.
Furthermore, responsibility for arterial roads in Gozo has not been transferred to Infrastructure Malta, as is the case for Maltese arterial roads, because of strong objection from the Gozo minister, who wanted to keep these roads under her ministry’s remit, he said.
He did note that the road has been damaged for various years and patching was always done to fix this road.
A year ago, according to Said, Caruana held a press conference and the contractors dug up the whole road, so much so that today no cars or pedestrians can pass through it. “The road has been closed for a year but no work has been done and no workers have been seen on site.”
Said also said that farmers could not access fields, while people that need to travel between Nadur and Mġarr have to pass through Qala or Xewkija – a much longer route.
Furthermore, he added that the Nadur football pitch is not accessible from Mġarr. Business for a private restaurant situated on the road has also taken a hit due to the situation.
“The road could have easily been done through EU funds; however, the government, over the last six years, has not applied for any funds for roads in Gozo,” Said observed.