Gozo ministry preparing planning application for runway

The Gozo Ministry is presently preparing a planning application to develop a runway on agricultural land in Ta’ Lambert in Xewkija Gozo.

This emerges from a planning document presented by the Water Services Corporation proposing a pipe connecting the Gozo Sewage Treatment plant, to Mgarr road to enable farmers to use the treated sewage.

The Project Development Statement reveals that the route of the proposed underground pipe was chosen so as to cross the proposed runway perpendicularly, so the least possible length of pipe will pass below the runway.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority had asked the Water Services Corporation to locate the pipe under the present road to minimise the impact on agricultural land but the WSC argues that this is not technically feasible because of a sharp bend in the road.

Gozo runway: a priority or not?

In February 2013 Joseph Muscat declared that the Gozo airstrip was “not a priority”, and that a helicopter service and a fast-ferry service between Mgarr and Valletta would be considered instead.

But in a consultation meeting in July 2013 the Tourism Ministry announced that the government was considering a new 400-metre or 650m airstrip in Gozo, at an angle adjacent to the existing airstrip.

In November 2013, the government confirmed that talks were ongoing with an “Italian company” on an airlink between Malta, Gozo and Sicily, and funds for a study on an airstrip were included in the national budget.

In January 2014 works commenced to clear rubble and dumping in the area but the government denied that this was being done to clear the way from a runway. But the Gozo Business Chamber and the Gozo Tourism Association both welcomed this development and are looking forward to having fixed-wing routes to Gozo.

In March 2014 Joseph Muscat announced that the government was considering the construction of a grass airstrip in Gozo but the government would first need to evaluate the environmental impact.  One of the advantages of a grass airstrip according to Muscat is that it would be reversible.

A draft Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED), which is set to replace the Structure Plan, approved in 1992 and serve as the general guide for planning decisions, foresees the development of an airstrip, a cruise liner terminal and a yacht marina in Gozo.