Why the bridge linking Malta to Gozo is a terrible idea - Opinion Article

I’d like to start this off by pointing out that Malta has a limited budget. We can spend a given amount of money and use this money for a given amount of projects. I'm saying this because a billion euros minimum is a hell of a lot of money for Malta, meaning that if it were to finance the bridge, for both option 1 and option 2 of the project, the Maltese government would have a lot less money to spend on other valid projects.

Now let me make it clear I’m not a Gozitan and I don’t have to catch the ferry frequently. I do understand the frustration coming from Gozitans though. Gozitans do deserve a better service but a bridge won’t solve the problem.

Imagine getting stuck in traffic every day during the rush hour while trying to get home. Now anyone who doesn’t walk to work or school experiences this. Now imagine getting stuck in traffic from the centre of Malta till Mellieha and add to that nearly 9km of road. Great isn’t it? 

There will probably be more cars in Malta since thousands of Gozitans will be commuting daily to the motherland. Now I don’t know how long it would take for a Gozitan to get home, but I’m sure it would be a very long ride.

1 billion euros for that! Problem solved. Now imagine a different system, a cheaper and less polluting system. A system where you can take a short commute to Valletta, and catch a fast and frequent catamaran to Gozo. I’d reckon it would be much faster than having to cross the congested island by car, whilst also costing much less. Also people who live on the North of the island can catch a fast and frequent catamaran too from Cirkewwa.

Apart from that the bridge itself would be an eyesore. A tunnel could be a solution for this problem if it wouldn’t end up costing so much more than an already very expensive bridge, however construction would definitely lead to a huge increase in water turbidity, which is very detrimental to the sea's natural biota. The bridge would also turn Gozo into a single ‘blokka tal-konrit’, since it would now be so easy to develop as a mere extension of Mellieha.

All in all I feel as though we can invest our money elsewhere. A fast and frequent catamaran to Valletta is just so much cheaper and probably more effective than a bridge. Sometimes simple solutions work best.  

More info here

Marc'Andrea

Save Hondoq ir-Rummien - Inform Yourself!

Greenhouse Malta has joined this Press Release

WE URGE you to sign the Hondoq ir-Rummien PETITION: http://raxerri.com/soshondoq/

Press Release.

Moviment Harsien Hondoq together with Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Ramblers Association,Nature Trust,Din L-Art Helwa,FOE Malta,Wirt Ghawdex Greenhouse Malta and Ghaqda Universita Ghawdxin welcome Transport Malta’s recent recommendation that MEPA should refuse the proposed alternative route to service the application for the building of a yacht marina, hotel and 250 flats and villas at Hondoq ir-Rummien. Common sense has prevailed.

It is indeed heartening to note that just as the Environment Directorate found the EIA biased in favour of the project, Transport Malta also concluded that there are serious shortcomings in the Traffic Impact Statement.

Firstly the traffic count was flawed by way of the location where it was carried out, far out of the Qala village core: in reality the project will generate unacceptable additional traffic in the centre of Qala.

Secondly the proposed traffic scheme for the project was not adequate. This is obvious considering that the objective of TM is” to provide an effective regulatory framework for land transport with road safety as a top priority, whilst at the same time promoting socio-economic development and protection of the environment.”

Moviment Harsien Hondoq and the eNGOs find it hard to imagine that the MEPA Board would ignore the expert advice of these two authorities, specialists in their respective fields, both of whom have recommended a refusal of this project.

The NGOs wish to thank the encouraging numbers who have been supporting the Hondoq cause and also signed up the petition. They ask those who have not yet signed it, to do so without delay at: http://raxerri.com/soshondoq/ in order to express themsleves in favour of Gozo’s natural environment.

Moviment Harsien Hondoq

Featured on Times of Malta, Di-ve and Gozonews

Our Countryside – Parks or Illegal Dumps?

The NGOs Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth, Gaia Foundation, Greenhouse, NatureTrust and Ramblers Association are concerned that in spite of the official message being given that the countryside is being protected, in fact many areas in Malta and Gozo are increasingly coming under attack.

In Gozo, illegal dumping has been taking place at Ta' Muxi, near Qala, affecting an area of nearly 70,000m² or 60 tumuli, as can be seen on Youtube.

Most of this dumping has occurred in an area of great geological interest and scenic beauty, proposed as a geological park. MEPA itself states: “Active conservation measures are required to protect the geology and landforms of Malta as an important and irreplaceable scientific, educational, cultural, aesthetic and potentially economic resource. If irreparable damage or loss was to occur then it is our own society that would be impoverished.”

Farmers who deposit soil without a permit on fields lacking soil are subjected to the full force of MEPA regulations. At Ta' Muxi, the ongoing removal of topsoil to cover illegal dumping of construction waste on virgin land has been ignored in spite of reports.
If construction waste is used as infill on a building project, MEPA immediately clamps down. At Ta' Muxi, construction waste has been dumped illegally and systematically with no action taken against the perpetrators. Furthermore, the Ta’ Muxi quarry operators have been using an illegal road to dump abusively for years. Yet MEPA expects us to believe that its officers are keeping a watchful eye on Gozo?

While the NGOs support the steep increase on tax for rubble waste in line with the polluter pays principle, this needed to be accompanied by enforcement, as now many are dumping in the countryside to avoid tax. The NGOs ask where the Green Wardens’ priorities lie as they only seem interested in fining litterers, while ignoring heavy dumping in the countryside.

The Ta’ Muxi quarry owners have violated several of the conditions of their permit, including failure to use the alternative route as stipulated in the permit and not preventing dumping by unauthorised persons. This quarry has failed to pay the sum of Lm2000 due annually since 1998 to Qala Council to cover road and water pipe damages as a result of the quarrying.

In the face of repeated protests, until recently top MEPA authorities were insisted that the quarry owners were acting within their permit. Then, some three weeks ago Mepa backtracked and admitted that violations of permit conditions had taken place

The Ta’ Muxi quarry is now applying for the renewal of its quarry permit. According to Legal Notice 337, when processing or renewing a permit, MEPA is to consider the impact of the proposed activity on the environment and to assess the applicants’ suitability based on their track record of legality.

At Wied Għajn Zejtuna in Mellieha, MEPA’s upgrading of the scheduling of the watercourse has in fact massively reduced the size of the protected area, allowing development to encroach closer to the watercourse, endangering the ‘qabru’ (fresh-water crab) and aggravating flooding in the area.

At Bengħisa a vast area of fields, protected carobs and dry stone walls is earmarked to create warehousing for the Freeport in spite of the existence of such facilities at nearby Hal Far.

At Ħaz-Zebbug developers have abusively uprooted a great many trees without the necessary permits. In the meantime Ramla Bay and Wied il-Għasel remain imperiled due to their ongoing MEPA Appeals.

These examples of environmental neglect and mismanagement all over Malta and Gozo, culminating in the Dwejra debacle, show that MEPA lacks the will to prevent the encroachment of our countryside and the further destruction of Malta and Gozo's natural beauty. As such MEPA officials responsible for this state of affairs should be held accountable and step down.


Published on Times of Malta and Gozo News

Follow up to the PR by MEPA: Mepa acts over dumping near Qala