The Gozo Business Chamber (GBC) in a statement on Thursday, voiced its concerns on what it called the “grave situation currently happening at the ferry terminals in Mgarr and Cirkewwa.”

The Gozo Chamber stressed that “though the situation at Mgarr and Cirkewwa has already reached the limit, and much harm has been averted through extensive coordination, the docking of the MV Nikolaos during the past weeks (until 19th May) has shown once again Gozo’s vulnerability at its only access point in Mgarr, which is now very small compared to Gozo’s needs and its expanding economy.”

It pointed out that “the delays that have been experienced in the past weeks have negatively impacted the community and its economy. The Government must understand that Gozo completely depends on Mgarr Harbour and the service being offered by Gozo Channel, and that this is the lifeline for both the economy and the community.”

The GBC argued that “the serious lack of planning and forward thinking which have undermined both the infrastructure and the service, show once again that Gozo is not being given the attention it merits. While we are seeing significant investment in the transport infrastructure in Malta, we are not seeing the same level of investment in Gozo.”

The Chamber added that “the recent announcement with respect to a potential land reclamation project in Mgarr is a step in the right direction. However, Gozo deserves better. It deserves serious strategic and forward thinking and to be given its due attention within the national context. This applies also to the service being offered, where even with the MV Nikolaos in place, still needs serious rethinking and investment.”

The Chamber said that it also feels that there is a “serious lack of transparency in terms of the passes that are being handed to people to skip the queue. Transparent and consolidated criteria which are publicly available should be in place, with Gozo Channel providing information on the number of passes issued on a quarterly bases and the reasons why these are being issued. Passes should also be reviewed by an independent board at particular time intervals to ensure that these are not being abused or that these are not being used by other persons other than those to whom they have been issued.”

The Chamber stated that it also believes that the car queueing area in Cirkewwa should also be “properly manned as there have also been several instances where queues were skipped by vehicles entering the Cirkewwa queue.”

The Chamber also highlighted the situation of the fast ferry service. Noting that, “with the rising number of day tourists visiting Gozo it is not the first time that Gozitan people have been left stranded to wait for another hour because the fast ferry was full.”

The Gozo Business chamber concluded that “due to the success of the service, it is important to ensure that it continues to respond to the continuous changing exigencies of people travelling between the two islands.”

File photos: DOI

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