In a press conference made after the Finance Minister's Budget speech, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that the feasibility study commissioned by the government into the possibility of building an airstrip in Gozo showed that the proposal was viable and would go ahead.

This, he said, would give Gozo an air link to Malta which would encourage tourists to visit the sister island, possibly even as a destination in its own right.

Meanwhile, question time in parliament has shown that the bridge to Gozo might also turn out to be a bridge too far. PN MPs have repeatedly asked the Transport Minister as to what has become of the feasibility study into the road link to Gozo. It is already four months late, and Mr Mizzi told Dr Said that it is still being finalised because the scope of it has been widened to consider other alternatives.

But what other alternatives are there? A mag-lev train? A bullet-train? A tram? A cable car? It is painfully obvious that the only options available are a suspension bridge, or a tunnel. The report was supposed to be drafted by a Chinese company, for free, and the government was also not obliged to pick the said company to bring the project to fruition.

To go back to the air link, Gozo Minister Anton Refalo has also been questioned about it in parliament and has said that the report is still being finalised and will be published in the near future.

With the specific mention of the air link by the Prime Minister, insomuch that the project is deemed to be one that can work and will be implemented, one has to ask what has become of the said report?

The same goes for cruise liner arrivals offshore in Gozo, as well as the building of a terminal and yacht moorings. It seems that everything that has to do with Gozo has been put on the back burner. Time and time again, think tanks have said that Gozo needs more connectivity to Malta to combat the double insularity effect on Gozo. Some are in favour of linking the islands, and others are not. But the main issue here is that there always seems to be a lot of talk and not much action. Is it just a case of playing to the gallery, or will the government get its act together and implement (or at least start to entertain the thought) the projects that it has been promising?

The ferry service between our two islands have kept Gozo going over the last 100 years or so, but in order to keep up with our modern life and times, something is sorely needed.