Toni Bezzina, the Nationalist Party spokesperson for Transport and Infrastructure this evening expressed his concern that creating an agency to take infrastructural decisions may have a negative impact on local councils.

The government has proposed a new law to create a new agency whose work would be to put into force the government's electoral pledge to invest €700 million on Malta's roads. The proposed law is currently being discussed in parliament.

Speaking in parliament this evening, Bezzina said that he agreed with establishing an agency with the purpose of helping with the work of local councils in this regard. However, he believes that such an agency would remove the power from local councils to make decisions with regards to their locality.

He remarked that if local councils are not informed, they would become a 'front desk' for the government. He added that local councils were not informed on how the agency would work.

Following Bezzina, Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana said that Gozo will 'significantly' benefit from the €700 million roads project. However, she stated that more funds must be allocated towards the ministry's budget.

Caruana emphasised the need for a change in mentality with regards to Gozo, stating that Gozo has been deprived of funds for road maintenance for a long time. "The mentality where everything passes with regards to Gozo must change," she said.

She claimed that since she became minister she has given the island's roads the "attention they never received," explaining that the ministry has spent more than €4 million on work this year alone.

She said that a regional development plan draft for Gozo until the year 2030 will soon be published by her ministry.