Opposition MP calls for publication of Gozo-Malta bridge study

Shadow Gozo minister Chris Said called on the government to publish a study by a Chinese company blacklisted by the World Bank on the feasibility of a bridge between Gozo and Malta.

In June 2013, the government signed an agreement with China Communications Construction Company through which the company reportedly agreed to fork out €4 million out of its own pockets to conduct a feasibility study on the construction of a bridge between the two islands.

However, the plans have been effectively scrapped, with the government announcing in its Budget for 2016 that studies by economist Gordon Cordina have proven a tunnel to be more feasible.

Said pointed out that the previous Nationalist administration had planned to construct a tunnel between the two islands, while Gozo Minister Anton Refalo had publicly voiced his preference of a bridge.

“The government had wasted three years only to resort to the previous administration’s plans for the tunnel,” he said, while questioning whether any environmental impact assessments have been carried out.

 “I sincerely hope this isn’t another gimmick like the government’s other plans for Gozo.”

He also criticised the government for not introducing in the Budget a fast-ferry service between Mgarr and the Grand Harbour as a short-term accessibility solution while the tunnel is being built. 

‘Government backtracking on airstrip plans’

Said also hit out his counterpart Refalo – who he mocked as a “glorified local council” – for backtracking on his plans to construct an airstrip in Gozo.

“Last year, Refalo had said that he wanted to construct an airstrip in Gozo – to connect the island not only with Malta, but with other Mediterranean countries,” he said. “However, he has now delivered a death-blow to those plans, with the excuse that the government doesn’t want to rush the project because it will take up virgin land.

“Of course it will take up virgin land; which airstrip doesn’t take up virgin land? Is it possible that the government hadn’t realized this back then?” 

‘Refalo would never have accepted Gozo hospital privitisation’

Said claimed that Refalo, as a Gozitan, would never have accepted the privitisation of the Gozo General Hospital- had the responsibility of health in Gozo not been switched from the Gozo Ministry to the Health Ministry.

“The hospital is the only one on the island, meaning that Gozitans in need will now be forced to either go to a private hospital or to Mater Dei,” he said. “No Gozitan would have allowed the privitisation of the hospital.”

He warned that Gozitan workers, “both Nationalist and Labourite”, are concerned about their future, and called on the government to publish all contracts related to the privitisation to truly put their minds at rest.

He questioned whether workers’ take-home pay and work conditions will remain unchanged, whether the hospital’s Child Development Assessment Unit will be “handed over to foreigners”, and whether St. Anne’s Residence and the mental health ward will remain in their current locations.

He also asked whether Vitalis Healthcare – the winning bidder for the planned massive investment project into the Gozo Hospital, the Karin Grech Hospital and St. Luke’s – is still searching for funding into the €200 million project.