Cabinet papers | Gozo bridge not feasible

Cabinet memoranda show that the George Borg Olivier government was very sceptical on the feasibility of the development of a causeway between Malta and Gozo, an idea which was resurrected by the Gonzi administration in the form of a tunnel and by the Muscat administration in the form of a bridge.

In 1969, Borg Olivier's government was faced by an application for financial assistance by Matual Trust Limited in connection to their project of developing a causeway linking Malta and Gozo. 

The Gozo civic council was lobbying the government to accept the project but the Borg Olivier government was reticent especially after it had committed itself on the modernisation of the Mgarr harbour.

The company's demands included a grant of 50% of the project's costs and an income tax holiday of 10 years apart from emphyteutical lease on the land required in Malta, Gozo and Comino for the project. They also called for the introduction of toll payment at a rate approved by government.

The Cabinet agreed that before any decision is taken, the government should seek the views of the Economic Planning Division.

In a memorandum presented to Cabinet on 30 March 1970, Borg Olivier relayed the opinion of the Economic Planning Division that the government should not commit itself to such a scheme before a feasibility study was conducted.

The Gozo bridge memorandum was typical of Borg Olivier's style of government (presenting his Cabinet with detailed memoranda before any decision is taken) - a pattern which emerges from the documentation made available to the public by the National Archives this week. This contrasts with the absence of any memoranda during the Mintoff years.

Preliminary estimates indicate that the tolls, which will have to be levied to render the project commercially viable, would render the causeway "uncompetitive" with compared to the ferry service.

Moreover, the Economic Planning Division had also warned the government "it will be hardly possible for government to find the necessary funds within the next five years for a 50% grant, for the laying of essential services and the construction of access roads." 

The division concluded that with "the burden on recurrent budget will be too heavy".

The government felt that there was no impellent need to float loans of the magnitude likely to be required for such a project in the 1960 to 1974 development plan as the transport needs of Gozo were adequately provided by the modernisation of the Mgarr harbour.

But while the government was insisting that any decision should be based on the results of the feasibility study, the promoters were saying that in view of the expense involved, it would not be possible for them to undertake the presentation of feasibility studies unless they had a prior indication through a letter of intent in which the government declared being in agreement with the project in principle.

Thirty five years later, the Maltese government is still awaiting the results of feasibility studies before taking a final decision. The latest study is being conducted for free by China Communication Construction Company, a company which specialises in building bridges.