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Sliema-Gozo fast ferry: Bonett says legal challenge to government tendering ‘normal procedure’
Transport Minister Chris Bonett wants to set record straight on criticism over legal challenge to Sliema-Gozo ferry tender, insisting legal challenge to government tendering part of normal procedure
23 July 2025, 3:22pm
Matthew Farrugia
Matthew Farrugia
2 min read
(Photo: Chris Bonett)
Transport Minister Chris Bonett said on Wednesday he wanted to set the record straight on a challenge to government’s tender for the Sliema-Gozo ferry.
He said the legal challenge was normal procedure in government tendering, and the issue has been criticised for “nothing”.
“For some reason, certain people are trying to turn this into a scandal when there is absolutely nothing strange going on,” Bonett said on Facebook.
The company claimed that the tight 21-day submission deadline, the technical requirements favouring operators already running high-speed craft, and the short 21-day window to launch the service had distorted the process in favour of established players while discouraging genuine competition.
The minister explained the protest doesn’t mean Supreme Travel is right, and blasted those who have “taken this as an opportunity to undermine the fast ferry project.”
Referring to criticism by the Nationalist Party, Bonett said it had first said sea transport wouldn’t solve the traffic problem, then claimed sea transport was their idea.
“Now they’re saying, ‘OK, the service will happen, but we did a bad job,’ and are specifically blaming me—even though everyone knows that ministers don’t write tenders.”
Bonett’s status comes hours after PN leadership hopeful Adrian Delia blasted Bonett’s ministry for lacking direction.
“A good idea to address the country’s traffic woes has now ended up in controversy because government did not respect the law,” he said on Facebook.
At the beginning of the month, government announced that it would issue tenders for a new ferry service connecting Gozo to Sliema with a stop in Buġibba.
The service between Buġibba and Tas-Sliema will be offered free of charge to encourage the use of the service. The aim is to enhance the efficiency of sea transport, extending beyond the main channels and ports to include other coastal areas.
Matthew Farrugia is a staff reporter at MaltaToday
