Speaking to reporters while visiting work-in-progress in the central part of Malta, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that cabinet is in the process of approving a list of projects that will be financed by the European Union Cohesion and Structural Funds.
Dr Gonzi said that the work being presently carried out under the Italian Protocol is proceeding at a fast pace. E30 million (Lm12.5 million) have been allocated for this project, which is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
He said that this project has given us a unique opportunity to work with Italian experts. This technology transfer will help our professionals to learn from the vast experience enjoyed by our Italian counterparts and to seek better ways of improving our roads.
The project is split into three different phases: Phase 1 covers the road from Qormi to Zebbug, Phase 2 covers the road from Zebbug to Rabat and Phase 3 consists of the building of a new road leading from the Mtarfa Cemetery to the area known as San Pawl tal-Qlajja.
The Prime Minister said special attention has been given to ensure that traffic disruption is kept to a minimum. For this reason, he said, Lm100,000 were spent on the resurfacing of a secondary, rural road that is presently being used as an alternative to the main road affected by works on Phase 1.
The roads are being built to high standards, ensuring that proper service ducts for the installation of basic services are constructed. Most of these have been designed underneath pavements so that the roads will not have to be dug up if any problems occur.
Large parts of the roads have been re-aligned to remove excessive curves and bends. The gravel for the top level of the roads, known as the wearing course, was imported from Italy. This will ensure better road-holding due to a higher grip level than local gravel, which tends to become slippery and wears out.
While work on Phase 1 has fallen three weeks behind schedule, work on Phase 3 is truly ahead of schedule and is expected to be carried out in eight months instead of the planned 13.
Project coordinator Giuseppe Anastasi said that work on Phase 1 has fallen three weeks behind schedule because of problems regarding the installation of basic services. However, Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett, who was accompanying the Prime Minister, said this should be easily rectified since the contractor is considering postponing the annual shut-down period.
Dr Gonzi also said environment impact assessments and feasibility studies on a Trans-European Network – Transport (Ten-T) are presently being carried out by French company BECEOM. The report by this company will serve as a basis for a long-term development strategy for our roads.