Minister hoping for early completion of Coast Road project

Transport and infrastructure minister Joe Mizzi said that delays in ongoing works on the Coast Road, originally planned to span over 60 weeks, were only down to ensuring better efficiency in the way the works are completed.

Mizzi expressed his optimism that the project could be finalized in good time. “The sooner the works finish, the less inconvenience and chance of accidents we will have," he said.

The project, which is currently in its third week, will cost an estimated €53 million, with 85% of this sum being funded by the EU. The project will seek to widen the road by some 10 metres and build several water reservoirs between Pembroke and Bahar ic-Caghaq.

Mizzi said that when he took office in March of last year, there were many shortcomings in the infrastructure of the roads, with the government making rectifying the situation a priority.

“Many of the roads we have are not good enough to cater for the traffic congestion in the country,” he said. “And this will only get worse with time.”

“There was a need to tackle the problem head on for many years and yet no real steps were taken. “

The minister also took the Opposition to task for its “destructive” criticism. “They accuse us of only continuing projects that they started but it is obvious that if things were not done right, we would need to finalize these projects first.

“We thrive on healthy criticism but theirs is only negative.”

Works on the Coast Road are expected to last a total of 60 weeks (Photo by Ray Attard).