Most major road works to be completed by end of July

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) said in a statement this morning that a meeting was held with Minister Austin Gatt together with other senior executives from Transport Malta to discuss the current state of the roads and related re-structuring projects in Malta and Gozo.

Mr Tony Zahra, MHRA President, stated that a “proper roads infrastructure is critical for the tourism industry as it not only ensures better access for transportation but also contributes for the proper embellishment of the external environment.”

He asserted that it is “necessary that project time frames are properly communicated at the site of works and that the relevant public authorities should ensure that public money is well spent by ensuring that contractors adhere to contractual obligations.”

Mr Zahra said, “A tourist who visits Malta today and does not see any form of communication on-site where road works are being conducted will have his experience of our country marred.”

Minister Gatt explained that most works on various major roads had to be carried out in parallel over the past months due to EU funding obligations but recognised that this caused various unavoidable inconveniences. The Minister agreed with MHRA that there should be better traffic management however both agreed that this had its limitations too.

MHRA welcomed the various initiatives that are being carried out by the relevant public authorities to enhance product Malta and also welcomed Minister’s Gatt commitment that “most of the current major road works will be complete by the end of July 2012.”

These include Council of Europe Road, Garibaldi Street, Sea Passenger Terminal Road, Marfa Road and most road works in Gozo. Minister Gatt also stated that the Mellieha Bypass will be complete by end of 2012, whereas the Marsa Under Pass is currently behind schedule due to archaeological findings.