PN slams proposed Gozo bridge construction

Tonio Fenech criticises the budget for not investing enough in post-graduate education and in new University faculties 

The proposed construction of a permanent bridge between Malta and Gozo is both financially and environmentally unfeasible, shadow finance minister Tonio Fenech said.

According to a feasibility study commissioned by the government from the blacklisted China Communications Construction Company, a bridge between Malta and Gozo will cost €1 billion, as well as an additional €4 million a year thanks to maintenance costs.

“The previous Nationalist government had considered building a tunnel between the two islands, but never a bridge because we believed that it would have been too harmful to the environment,” Fenech said at a talk organised by the University student media organisation Insite. “Moreover,  €1 billion is far too expensive for a bridge.”

He also said that surveys should be carried out to find out what impact the bridge could have on Gozo’s tourism, economy, and social life. 

 “The way the government has handled this issue has so far been very amateurish,” Fenech said.

Meanwhile, Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Arnold Cassola said that the bridge could both harm Gozo’s businesses and “kill its identity and character”.

He also hit out at Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s recent claims that the final decision on whether the bridge should be constructed or not could come down to a referendum amongst Gozitan citizens.

“This issue is one of national concern,” Cassola said. “If only Gozitans are going to get to vote on it, then perhaps the taxes for its construction should only come out of their pockets.”

Cassola once again called for an increase in the minimum wage and criticised the budgetary announcement that a car park will be built on part of the ditch under City Gate, Valletta.

“The government is contradicting itself,” Cassola said. “While they are saying that they want to decrease traffic, they are also increasing the number of car parks. This will only encourage more people to buy cars.”

He also criticised the government for leaving local councils in “a disastrous state” and for not mentioning the proposed new gas power station in its budget speech.

Government ‘not spending enough on higher education’

Tonio Fenech also told the audience of students that the government is not spending enough on post-graduate education.

“On paper, the government has increased its expenditure on the University, but a lot of it is due to its obligations to the collective agreement it had signed with UMASA,” Fenech said. “The budget didn’t announce any expenditure for the setting up of new faculties, nor did it invest enough in post-graduate education. If we want to become more competitive, our youths must become more specialised, and it is therefore crucial that the government invest more in post-graduate education.”

While he admitted that more investment in research is important, he also said that a lot of industries don’t actually declare their researchers because they don’t want rival industries to find out and offer them more attractive wages.