2 comments so far.GTA urges Government to “reconsider its position on a tunnel for vehicles”
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The Gozo Tourism Association has expressed its “surprise” that the proposed three-line underground metro system with 25 stations around Malta, does not extend its connectivity to Gozo.
The Association called on the Government to “reconsider its position on the proposed tunnel for vehicles, between Malta and Gozo, and instead integrate it with the proposed metro system on the mainland.”
The Association, in a statement, questioned why the under-seabed tunnel between Malta and Gozo, which is still on the Government’s agenda, is not being linked with the metro system as being proposed for the mainland.
“For the Gozo Tourism Association, the argument that in order to extend the metro line to Gozo, the Island’s population must increase by 50,000 persons, does not hold water,” it said.
The Association pointed out that in 2019, prior to outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to NSO statistics, Gozo hosted 215,272 domestic visitors and 180,978 foreign visitors, who overnighted one night or more in Gozitan accommodation. During the same year 1,527,528 foreign tourists visited Gozo for the day.
It added that, according to NSO statistics, in 2020, the number of Gozitan residents who work in Malta reached 3,284. While in 2019, according to the same source, 1,654 Gozitan students were following their tertiary education in Malta.
The Gozo Tourism Association therefore asked “if the aforementioned numbers were taken into consideration when this metro study was being carried out.”
The Association reiterated that “if Gozo is to be connected with Malta by a permanent link, this should be part of an extended nationwide metro system.”
It argued that “Gozo does not need a tunnel for vehicles, but Gozo deserves to be connected with Malta in the right way.”
This certainly would make sense which is why it probably won’t happen! Having said that the rate at which Gozo is being destroyed by developers means that in the future tourist numbers both domestic and foreign will drop. I have recommended Gozo to a lot of people over the years and of the ones who actually gave it a try not one will be back. They complained that it was dirty and noisy and impossible to park anywhere. Most of them got awakened early in the morning by building work close by or shotguns being fired. And most had other complaints too. A tunnel for cars or a bridge would totally kill off the island as a tourist destination as would the other idea, an airport. The only ones screaming for an airport are the developers who would be able to check up on their destruction quicker!
Fabulously common sense idea. Start the new Metro in a site away from Victoria for sustainable access to Malta.
There is substantial EU support to level up opportunities in island nations, for which I’m sure a metro service would qualify.
If a car tunnel makes sense, replacing unsustainable cars with a sustainable Metro is what the future calls for.