Credit: Daniel Cilia

Marsalforn PN Councillor Daniel Cordina expressed his concern that the torrential mud that is carried down from the valley in winter each year will be trapped in the port if the Marsalforn breakwater is constructed as proposed.

His concerns were echoed by Daniel Cilia, a photographer and part-time Marsalforn resident, who has been closely following developments in the project.

Last Saturday, Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana announced that, following studies carried out by a technical team, the preferred design for the new Marsalforn breakwater had been chosen and preparation for an application for the project to be submitted to the Planning Authority is nearing completion.

The proposed dual breakwater system in Marsalforn incorporates the reconstruction of the Santa Maria Point Breakwater on the Qbajjar side over a span of about 200 metres, and the construction of another arm, jutting out about 170 metres in Għar Qawqla. The entire mouth of the bay will be enclosed by the two breakwaters, with only a small gap in-between.

Cordina said that this proposal had already been put forward in 2011, under a PN government, and a public consultation had been held. Even then, the design was not well-accepted and today “many do not agree with this type of breakwater”.

He stressed that fishermen are against the design because if they are caught in a storm out at sea, it would be impossible for them to enter the port. “The weather would push them on to one of the arms that are planned,” Cordina explained.

“My main concern is that, from being a public bay there is a risk that this will become a private yacht marina. I am not the only one saying this: it is a concern of several residents and shop-owners,” he continued. Insisting that he is in favour of a breakwater, Cordina said it should be similar to the one that had been there in the past. He did, however, thank the Minister for continuing with the promenade part of the project which he said had been presented in 2011.

Despite this, he said that the breakwater should be completed before the promenade project could be realised because, otherwise, the bad weather would destroy everything.

He noted that the previous breakwater had lasted for over 30 years:  “So if a breakwater is built like the one there was before, it would be better than the one presented by the Minister.” He added that a small breaker should be added on the Għar Qawqla side but the port should still remain open.

Ted Attard, a long-time resident of Marsalforn, also said that he agrees with a breakwater but not with the solution proposed. With the current proposal, he believes that “Marsalforn is going to be turned into a swimming pool,” adding that his fears are that the area will be transformed into a yacht marina.

His concerns are based on the fact that, during the busy summer months – such as Santa Maria – Marsalforn is inundated with boats. His fears do not only concern the number of boats but also the amount of litter left by these people. He even recalls the story of one boat that drove off leaving a garbage bag on the back of the boat to fly off into the sea.

Attard also agreed the breakwater should be in same the location as the previous one. Submerged breakwaters were also a good idea, he said, as they would minimise the chances of the area becoming a yacht marina.

 

Original submerged breakwater proposal completely scrapped

The new plans, which also included a video showing the large breakwater, superseded those presented in 2011, which were shelved. In the original Project Description Statement, it was concluded that either a submerged breakwater or a renourished beach would suffice independently but it was not excluded that a combination of the two options should be implemented.

In these studies, the options were tested and found that “Whether combined or separate, these interventions will break the waves and dissipate the energy in the inner coast of the bay and provide adequate protection to structures and properties on the promenade.”

The original recommendation of a submerged breakwater option along with a renourished beach, however, has been scrapped completely in the tender issued for the Marsalforn breakwater project.

Cilia also believes that the 2011 proposal was the best option and does not understand why those studies have suddenly become irrelevant. “What has changed about Marsalforn since 2011?” he asked The Malta Independent on Sunday.

With this option, he says, the beach will be extended, the breakwater will not be an eyesore and, furthermore, it will be less expensive to build. When asked if he thinks this solution will withstand the strong currents in the area, he said that the experts who carried out the previous studies seemed to have done the necessary tests and confirmed that this option was sufficient.

Despite a preferred design having already been chosen, the new project still requires two tenders focusing on the Geotechnical Investigations and Reporting on the Breakwater and on the Preparation of a Project Description Statement, and an Environmental Impact Assessment to be concluded.

The master plan, which was initially launched in 2017, is divided into two principal phases, Caruana had said.  These phases are, firstly: the embellishment of the promenade for which, Caruana explained, tenders have already been published with work beginning on the awarding of these tenders. 

The Marsalforn breakwater is a project that has been a topic of discussion during a number of legislatures, but , it has never materialised.