The option for a Gozo – Malta subsea tunnel is feasible from the economic and financial perspectives. This comes out as the result of a report, commissioned by Transport Malta and The Gozo Business Chamber (GBC) with the support of Bank of Valletta, regarding the establishing of a permanent link between the island of Gozo and mainland Malta and compiled by economist Dr Gordon Cordina.

This was announced during a presentation by Dr Cordina held on Friday at the Grand Hotel, Mgarr, Gozo, for members of the GBC and their guests.

The GBC said that this report is the first step towards the possibility of a fixed link between Gozo and Malta, "something which the GBC believes to be of great importance not only to Gozo but also to Malta."

The GBC stated that it is now looking forward to the next studies needed to assess the social and environmental impacts, among others.

The Report said that for the purposes of this analysis, three different options are considered as follows:

Option 1: Business as usual – a baseline scenario;

Option 2: Project scenario: Linking both islands by means of a bridge;

Option 3: Project scenario: Linking both islands through the sub seabed tunnel scenario.

The Baseline scenario entails that the current ferry system is maintained, expanding organically to meet trend demand growth. The same level of service and contribution to economic performance is expected to take place. Replacement investment of €120m is required by (at the very latest, and probably earlier than) 2030, whilst OPEX is estimated at an average of €21 million per annum including fuel.

The Bridge scenario involves the development of a single two-lane carriageway as per specifi- cations set in 'Malta-Gozo Link Feasibility Study, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), April 2014'.

The marine bridge length is estimated at 5.2 km. The project alignment is the Optimised East route which links the south- east corner of Gozo across the channels "Il-Fliegu ta' Kemmuna" and "Il-Fliegu ta' Ghawdex" across the channels, ending at the northeast corner of Malta.

There are various advantages associated with the Optimised East route namely the relatively low construction costs, no encroachment into Comino Island, shallow water depth, far from the ferry route, low waves, superior aesthetics and far from the sea plane landing area.

At the two shores, the proposed route which will be the main access between the two islands will connect to the national road network via link roads to guarantee rapid transportation be- tween the two islands. This option is expected to increased traffic as well as economic activity. CAPEX is estimated at €800 million (excl. taxes) and OPEX at 0.5% of CAPEX.

Option 3 presented in the EU Jaspers Programme report published by Transport Malta. This option is expected to result in increased traffic and more economic activity as per CCCC study and better emissions performance. CAPEX is estimated at an absolute maximum of €300 million (excl. taxes).

The economic analysis presented in this report is based on the above-mentioned costs and the following factors:

– effects of traffic flows on economic activity in Gozo;

– effects on vehicle travel and waiting times;

– implications for the costs of fuel used;

– climate change and pollution effects.

Other elements which are not considered in the evaluation of fixed link projects, and which un derstate their net economic contribution, particularly that of the sub-seabed tunnel include:

– second and further round socio-economic welfare on the Maltese population in general;

– hedonic effects (landscape, experiential enjoyment, etc);

– creation of mineral resources and further transport network effects (ports, roads, public transport);

– innovative elements of project development in a Mediterranean context.

From an economic perspective, the tunnel is the preferred option since it provides the highest economic benefit, followed by the bridge option.

The full report is available for download here.

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