[WATCH] Marsaskala council files motion against marina to government

Marsaskala local council presented a motion to Transport Minister Ian Borg and Transport Malta, reiterating their position against the plans for a yacht marina at the Marsaskala creek.

In a press conference on Saturday in Marsaskala, the minority leader of the Marsaskala council and PN candidate John Baptist Camilleri, revealed how on 20 January 2022, the council discussed the issue of the yacht marina planned by Transport Malta with Borg.

“In this meeting, Minister Borg said that he was not aware of the Local Council’s August 2021 motion against the call for investors in a yacht marina in the bay of Marsaskala, which also states that there should be no private concession for a yacht marina,” Camilleri said.

He said Borg acknowledged that the motion categorically rejects all plans for a yacht marina and proposed that the Council discuss the motion and by mid-February reconsider to allow for a motion that does not completely exclude concession of space to the private sector.

“He pledged that Transport Malta would not move forward with the second phase of the process until the Local Council’s final position is made clear,” Camilleri said.

He said the council met again and unanimously agreed to uphold its August motion and formally sent notice of this to Minister Borg and Transport Malta.

The motion stated, “The Local Council is against the proposal for a yacht marina in Marsaskala, presented in Transport Malta’s pre-qualification document and condemns its publication without consultation with the Marsaskala community. The local council demands that this document be withdrawn immediately and that plans for a yacht marina in Marsaskala be abandoned completely. Transport Malta should launch immediate discussions with the local council, with residents of Marsaskala and with the local associations, for the organisation of existing berths, for the protection of the cultural and social customs of the locality, the protection of the marine environment and for safeguarding the swimming zones of the bay.”

Present for the press conference, were a group of residents, fishermen, feast and fireworks enthusiasts, and activists. In a statement, they said they believe the only remaining path for Borg and Transport Malta is that of withdrawing the call and plans for a yacht marina in Marsaskala.

Residents and activists gathered in support of the council motion

They stated that Borg referred to the possibility that Transport Malta intervenes without private sector investment to repair the breakwaters and organise existing berths.

“Since the publication of Transport Malta's plans last August, people have made it very clear that they do not want the privatization of Marsaskala Bay. Residents and organisations have warned that Transport Malta's plans for a bay consumed by pontoons, yachts and expansive land reclamation will destroy marine life, threaten the Natura 2000 site of il-Magħluq and destroy the cultural, social and recreational activities which take place around the bay in the heart of Marsaskala."

“Now that the Minister has asked that the Council give its final position before plans for a yacht marina proceed, and the Council has upheld its first motion to categorically oppose these plans, we believe all further plans for a yacht marina must be halted and the proposal withdrawn,” they stated.

David Spagnol from the fireworks group spoke of the importance of the ecology and the sea and said the marina would jeopardise them. “We require projects that improve the community. My identity and community are all related to Marsaskala.”

A fisherman, Jason Genovese, said that fishermen rely on the bay in order to make their living. He said that with the marina they would not have any space to work and stated many fish would die. “I ask the minister, are you listening to us? It’s like we don’t exist. We need to work and make a living.”

Joanna Galea a resident said Marsaskala represents a break from the hustle and bustle of the island. She stressed on the importance of the creek and the bay, which she said, are the “cheapest form of stress relief”.

“Such serenity will be taken away by the marina. I don’t want to sell my property. I want to live here. Nothing can replace the natural beauty of the bay,” Galea said. 

Daniel Desira who spent his childhood in Marsaskala said the bay offers a break from the over development in the inner part of the locality. He said the locality would not remain the same, should the marina be built.

“Politicians are always telling us that quality of life is not measured by economic development alone, so why the marina? I call on the Prime Minister to rethink and abandon the project,” Desira said.

The NGOs in support of the motion were Grupp tan-Nar Festa Sant'Anna Wied il-Għajn, Grupp Armar Festa Sant' Anna Wied il-Għajn, Għaqda Baħħara Sajjieda u Dilettanti Wied il-Għajn, Marsaskala Residents Network, Moviment Graffitti, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Rota, Extinction Rebellion Malta, Friends of the Earth Malta, Nature Trust Malta and Malta Youth in Agriculture (MaYA).