On a visit to the Gzira business community, Mr Vassallo was referring to the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) which, he said, had objected to certain decisions taken by local councils in order to mitigate short-term parking problems in their locality.

As is the case with other towns, shop-owners in Gzira have complained that there are not enough short-term parking spaces available in their area.

Mr Vassallo said that a number of businessmen in the yachting industry had reported that foreigners favoured Malta as a port of call for servicing, because of its unique commercial sector, and added that more must be done to exploit this advantage.

He also pointed out that a number of representatives from the yachting industry had complained that Italian yachts visiting Malta are on the decline mainly because, since Malta joined the EU, the country could no longer entice them with duty-free fuel and other related products. Nonetheless, he said, business seemed to be good this year. He pledged to keep in constant contact with the businessmen, saying that it was important for the government to keep in touch with the industry.

Retailers also complained to the parliamentary secretary about flooding which, they said, had plagued the area for years. They pointed out that the culverts below the gardens in Gzira were not easing the problem and frequently overflowed when the water level was high or when there was heavy rain.

Replying to a comment on the lack of information about how the duty refund system actually worked when retailers supplied ships that were not EU-registered, Mr Vassallo said that he will refer the problem to the VAT department.

This is a sector that must be taken care of, he said. While the number of EU-registered vessels coming to Malta for servicing may have fallen, there is still the non-EU-registered ships market that can provide Malta with more business, he said.