Nationalist Party Leader Bernard Grech, has said that “Gozo is at the heart of the Nationalist Party,” and announced a number of proposals that “will continue to improve the quality of life of the Gozitan people.”
This morning, Grech listed his first proposals for the island of Gozo, saying that “effective and efficient accessibility between Malta and Gozo is a priority, especially in view of the double insularity which disadvantages Gozo and Gozitans.”
He stressed that, “all the necessary studies will be carried out in economic, environmental, social and other terms in preparation for the project of a permanent link between Malta and Gozo.”
He added that “we would consult with the Gozitan people on the permanent link through a referendum after having all the facts in hand with the publication of the studies.”
“We must ensure that accessibility is no longer an obstacle and thus improve the quality of life of the Gozitan people. All this can be done by striking a balance between excellent accessibility and measures that are sustainable and responsible,” Grech said.
He went on to say that, “the PN would explained the port of Mgarr to strengthen its facilities so that it can better accommodate the journey between the two islands, in a way that caters to the needs of passengers and cargo.”
“We will increase the Gozo Channel fleet with two new ships to improve the infrastructure of the Malta-Gozo route and the efficiency of the service,” said Grech. “One of these ships will be dedicated to cargo. We would be reintroducing a regular and daily freight service to the Grand Harbour.”
Grech said that an air service between the two islands would also be put in place.
“We will immediately stop the privatisation of the only hospital we have in Gozo and this will no longer be in the hands of Steward. Instead, we would carry out a massive capital programme for the development, through Malita plc, of a new 400-bed General Hospital in Gozo.
“There would be investments and funding for the extension of a range of cancer treatments given in Gozo itself.
“A new MRI service would also be opened in Gozo as well as to allocate sufficiently specialised resources to outpatient clinics to reduce the discharge of Gozitan patients to Malta,” the PN Leader said.
“There would be a new MCAST campus built in Gozo where, in addition to increasing the courses offered, new courses would be introduced in various fields related to the ten new sectors in which we will invest in our country,” he said.
There was also the promise of a new dedicated Malta Enterprise branch with a support unit to promote local and foreign direct investment in Gozo.
The press conference was also addressed by Claudio Grech, the person in charge of designing the electoral programme.
1 Comment To "Gozo is at the heart of the PN, Gozitans should decide on permanent link – Grech"
#1 Comment By Anthony Zammit On February 24, 2022 @ 3:18 pm
Both parties are presenting the tunnel and airstrip so that it will not effect the votes in the General Election. Most of the floaters float towards the promises promised by the parties. In this case there is no problem. No floater has any problem to choose because their promises are the same. There should be a separate vote if people still want the tunnel or they changed their minds. A simple question is enough. It won’t cost money like referendum. Slip it in with the voting papers.