Infrastructure Malta has shortlisted one bidder out of four who submitted their interest in building a tunnel between Malta and Gozo.

The Times of Malta reported on Tuesday that the only bidder to make it to the next round in the tendering process is a consortium of five companies: UK’s Equitix, Japanese company Itochu, Turkish companies Yapi Merkezi and Makyol, and French company Egis.

Rival bidders Malta-Gozo Fixed Link Limited, Salini Impregilo SpA and CGYI Malta-Gozo consortium, were eliminated from the process.

The appeals period for the decision runs until 20 September.

The Malta to Gozo tunnel is, according to Infrastructure Malta, set to run for 14 kilometres with one lane catering for each direction and a wide central buffer to cater for emergency vehicles.

It is a controversial project which has received bi-partisan backing in parliament, although the Nationalist Party are now insisting that the final proposal should be put up for Gozitans to vote on.