Tender to be issued for Sliema to Gozo ferry service with Bugibba stopover

by Gozo News · July 3, 2025

Prime Minister Robert Abela has announced that a call for proposals will be issued for private operators to manage a new sea transport service connecting Sliema, Bugibba, and Gozo.

He said that this initiative aims to enhance the efficiency and uptake of sea transport, not only along the main channel and routes to the main ports, but also across other key coastal areas.

The Prime Minister added that the use of this service will be further encouraged through a number of free routes, including the one between Bugibba and Sliema.

The Prime Minister made the announcement during the inauguration of the breakwater and ferry landing project in Bugibba.

It was explained that with an investment of nearly €14 million, partly financed through European funds, Infrastructure Malta has successfully completed the construction of a new breakwater in Bugibba on schedule. Stretching 180 metres in length, the breakwater is designed to reduce the impact of waves within the bay and provide enhanced protection for the mooring of fishing boats and small vessels.

Along with the main breakwater, a 36-metre-long secondary arm was constructed to provide enhanced shelter and safer mooring during adverse weather conditions together with a terminal equipped with sheltered waiting areas and other facilities which serve the needs of passengers travelling by sea.

Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works, Chris Bonett, explained the Bugibba terminal will support a new fast ferry service operating between Sliema and Mgarr, Gozo. Minister Bonett added that the sea transport service will be integrated with land transport to create a “truly multi-modal transport system for the country.”

“With the potential offered by this alternative means of transport, today we’ve reached an important milestone that will make daily life easier for many Maltese and Gozitans. In the years to come, sea transport will reach the next level, because the greater the challenge, the greater the opportunity,”, concluded Minister Bonett.

In his address, the Minister for European Funds and the Implementation of the Electoral Programme, Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, said that, “with the help of EU funds, we are building more sustainable and efficient alternatives to traditional transport, options that not only ease traffic on land but also offer better and more sustainable connections for Malta’s northern region.”