With the MV Gaudos out of service and the Gozo Channel operating on a reduced timetable, the ever-ending question of whether — or when — a bridge to Gozo will be built resurfaces once again. The MV Gaudos will be out of service until February 7th.
Gozo (along with Comino), with a population of up to 41,000 people, makes up just 4.3% of the country’s GDP which is significantly low when comparing the output from the mainland. GDP per capita also came significantly lower than Malta’s, at 59.8% of the national average compared to Malta’s own region at 103.0%. For many years we were lead to believe that it would have been if Gozo remained without a bridge to conserve its environmental characteristics, yet this seems have come at the expense of Gozo’s economy.
One wonders whether the theory about not building a bridge to conserve Gozo’s environmental insularity still holds any water with the ever rising number of visitors to the small island and also the rising number of Maltese who are re-locating there due to the housing-affordability crisis.
Using a ferry connection to Gozo definitely doesn’t seem feasible and sustainable and also makes no economic sense. The government subsidises the Gozo ferry with up to €10 million in subsidies every year and these subsidies are increasing. Building a bridge would reduce transport costs for ordinary citizens, increase efficiency for Gozitans ultimately improving their lives and even improving its economy. Having a direct link with Gozo would also decrease its economic, social and cultural insularity. The Ministry of Gozo wouldn’t even be required and government ministries and departments can be assimilated with the central departments.
A bridge to Gozo shouldn’t be a significant challenge and the Maltese government is quite capable of building it. Meanwhile, Italy has revived plans to build a bridge across the Strait of Messina linking Sicily to mainland Italy, relying on EU fiscal flexibility for strategic infrastructure.
The new Opposition and Nationalist Party Leader Alex Borg should have a lot of sway in this debate — he is after all from Gozo. So far, he hasn’t been very supportive of the idea. Meanwhile, the government is wasting funds building a new air-strip in Gozo. The government seems to be committed to improve connectivity issues with Gozo by using all means, except for the most obvious and efficient solution.
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