The government promised a seven-year plan with an investment of €700 million in our country’s residential roads, Minister Ian Borg said on Monday.

This is a Government that is working day after day with a clear plan, with a clear vision to ensure that our country can continue benefitting from surplus after surplus, a government that is willing to address challenges and problems and not simply sweep everything under the rug, he added

The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects said that this infrastructural plan considers all roads, including those that have never been built and those that are in a disastrous state and need to be rebuilt from scratch. He explained that the time for simple resurfacing like we were used to is over, and in fact, the Government is digging up these roads to the very bottom.

Minister Borg made reference to his visit to St Paul’s Bay two weeks ago, where the Government took upon itself what was meant to be done by the local Ccouncil, but where action for this locality’s residents was never taken by the same council, and therefore the Government chose to intervene to give the residents and businesses what they deserve.

“And today we have come to Mosta, one of the largest localities in our country, with more than 20,000 residents who were unfortunately forgotten as well, as we have several residential roads left in a derelict state, like the road we are on today, as well as others in the area – roads left derelict which then continued getting worse, and which sometimes even create danger for residents and those who pass through. This is a shameful situation and is not worthy of the residents of a country like Malta, a leading country in practically every sector. And that is why the Government had to be the one to start works in this locality”, stressed Minister Ian Borg.

He made reference to Dawret il-Wied, a road which is almost 0.5 kilometres long which was among the first roads completed in the past weeks, as well as the repairs done on Triq il-Fortizza tal-Mosta and Triq il-Kostituzzjoni to eliminate their dangerous state until the Government gets to the substantial improvement of these roads. He said that this is aside from several other roads in the pipeline for Mosta, i.e. part of Triq il-Waqqafa, Triq Is-Snajja, Triq tal-Qares, Triq Madre Maria Teresa Spinelli, Triq Rużar Briffa (Ta’ Żokrija), Triq ta’ Bistra, Triq il-Manwella, and Triq Durumblat, more than 3.5 kilometres of roads.

“And we will continue with the implementation of our seven-year plan. We will have several other roads in the calls for offers we will issue in the coming months, to continue rebuilding more roads, because this is a Government that delivers, this is a Government that knows what residents need because it is willing to listen to what they have to say, that not only has a clear vision of where it wants to take the country, of what it wants to give to the people, but above all this is a Government that not only plans that vision but delivers it, not only promises but implements, not only works hard to ensure that our country gets one surplus after another, but that ensures that the surplus gets to the people. We have seven years of non-stop work, above all seven years of work for the residents of our country, residents like those in Mosta, who definitely deserve better than what they got from their local council, and we will continue making the necessary decisions so that our country’s residents can continue benefitting from the fruit of these decisions, so that our people can continue benefitting from our country’s success”, concluded Minister Ian Borg.