3 comments so far.Chinese to carry out feasibility study on Gozo – Malta bridge
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The Government has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the China Communications Construction Company Limited (International), in order to carry out a detailed feasibility study on the possibility of a bridge being constructed between Malta and Gozo.
Deputy PM Louis Grech signed the Memorandum on behalf of the Government of Malta.
The Chinese company is a specialist in the construction of ports, waterways, roads and bridges, and the Prime Minister said that he was looking forward to discussing other matters with the company.
The Prime Minister added that the company had offered to cover the cost of the study itself, which is estimated to cost €4 million.
Dr Muscat said that this is part of a series of initiatives that the Government is looking into in order to improve accessibility between Malta and Gozo. “Some of the options being considered are a Gozo air link, a fast shipping service between Mgarr and Sa Maison, a tunnel between Malta and Gozo and the construction of a bridge.”
The Prime Minister said that the Government is welcoming this study, which is without any obligation to construct the bridge, and should the feasibility study be acceptable, the Government is also not obliged to continue with the Chinese company and therefore everything will be carried out according to the normal rules of procurement.
He said that there are excellent relations between Malta and China and that contacts on this kind of cooperation and other projects between the two countries have been ongoing for the last month.
On his part Vice-President of CCCC said that relations between Malta and China are “special” and China has great respect for Malta because it was the first country that had started diplomatic relations. He also said he believed Malta, as a country, has potential for growth.
China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) is a Fortune 500 company ranked 216th with operating revenues of 45.959 billion US dollars on July 9th 2012.
CCCC specialises in the investment, design and construction of ports, waterways, roads, bridges, railways, airports, municipal works and other transport infrastructure. It is ranked China’s No.1 International Contractor
On 28th December 2012, CCCC was listed first among China’s Top 100 Environmentally Responsible Listed Companies.
Having operations in over 80 countries and regions across the world, CCCC executed dozens of large-scale projects: Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea bridge (36km), The Donghai Bridge (32km), Qingdao Bay Bridge (26km), Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway and the on-going Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge (29,6km), to name but a few.
In 1972 the Chinese government granted a non-interest loan to Malta, and with the involvement of CCCC, constructed the largest dry-dock in the Mediterranean, known as the “Red China Dock”.
There are more than a 40 wholly owned and holding subsidiaries of CCCC and recently, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co., Ltd (ZPMC), one of the CCCC subsidiaries, has launched the construction of Forth Bridge in Scotland, the world’s longest multi-span central-plane cable-stayed bridge.
CCCC is partner of major European and world companies such as Vinci (France), Strabag SE (Austria) and Saipem (Italy).
The Maltese delegation was led by the Prime Minister, Dr Joseph Muscat and included Ministers Joe Mizzi, George Vella, Chris Cardona and Anton Refalo.
Well I hope it show that it is not feasible! The environmental impact, the visual impact the cultural impact on Gozo would all have a knock on effect on the vital tourist trade that it can only result in long term damage and would turn Gozo into a suburb of Malta …..perish the thought!
Sorry to rock your boat especially since I agree with you but do you really think a Chinese construction company is going to spend €4 million of its own money carrying out a study and then report that it’s not feasible?
As a tourist I’m against the idea of a bridge or tunnel and certainly an air link which is just plain stupid. However I also have to look at it from the point of view of the Gozitan people and a bridge would be a great benefit to them in their everyday lives. Having said that where is the money going to come from? I also can’t understand why the Chinese are being involved when there are European companies with much more experience in such work.
We are in agreement, yes from a commuters point of view a fixed link would be bliss but I think the damage to tourism would have a massive impact on the Gozitan economy. I also feel that so few parts of Malta have escaped construction that to build across this beautiful channel adjacent to Comino would be criminal, not to mention the negative environmental impact on the marine ecosystem.
I can see the funding coming from this being a toll bridge with the initial investment from abroad with the result that the tolls could be astronomical. Once built the ferries would be lost a monopoly would be in place and the bridge operators would be able to charge what they want.