The Urban Development and Roads Ministry, through the Department of Information, referred yesterday to a recent press conference given by a number of farmers about the proposed development of a bypass for Xemxija Hill.

The ministry said that it wanted to rectify misleading information that had been conveyed to the media during the conference.

In a statement, the DOI said it was worth mentioning that the proposed project had been identified by foreign road engineering experts who were commissioned by the government to study and suggest improvements to the roads that form part of the Trans-European Network – Transport in Malta.

The 13 projects identified – among which is the Xemxija bypass – are eligible for financing under the European Union’s Cohesion Fund.

Early last year, the ministry and the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) launched a public consultation process on all these projects and a public meeting had been held on 30 March to discuss the proposals.

The proposed Xemxija bypass involved the widening of existing roads and the construction of a tunnel passing under Manikata. The construction of a new road passing through the fields had never been proposed, said the ministry.

A report on the preliminary Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) that was carried out in respect of this project, in line with the terms of reference given by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa), was also presented during the meeting.

“It is worth mentioning that this study was not the full EIA that would be required, once the consultation process ends and the definitive route of the proposed bypass is determined,” said the ministry.

It continued: “Since farmers and residents of Manikata had put forward their objections to the project as it was proposed, during the same meeting it was agreed that a further technical meeting would be held at a later date with representatives of Manikata farmers and residents to analyse alternatives to the proposed route for this bypass.”

This technical meeting was held on 26 April and was followed by an on-site inspection by ADT engineers to investigate the possibility of an alternative route.

Here it was decided that the ADT would go back to an option that it had previously discarded and meet the representatives of the residents and farmers, once the designs for the new proposal were completed. A representative of Manikata residents was present throughout the technical discussions on this proposal.

Since then, this proposal had been designed, refined and passed over to Mepa to analyse the impact that it will have on the surrounding environment. The old proposal can be discarded only once Mepa reports with a positive feedback on the new proposal.

The ministry said the need for a bypass for Xemxija Hill had emerged from the anticipated increase in traffic in the northern part of the island. The road in Xemxija already carries 23,000 vehicles daily. and this number is expected to increase to 26,000 by the year 2010. If no concrete action is taken to address the situation, one will probably be witnessing long queues of traffic queues to and from Mellieha, which is usually common at weekends and sometimes even during the week.

“It is also likely that if such a situation were to persist, the additional traffic would start using the roads through Manikata and Mizieb to avoid delays, despite the fact that these two roads were not designed to carry such large volumes of traffic. One can also anticipate difficulties for Gozitans and tourists want-ing to reach Gozo,” said the ministry.

“The Ministry cannot understand the aim of Saturday’s press conference, particularly since the government had proved that this project was not cast in stone and that it was ready to take the proposals by the residents and farmers seriously.

“It is also disappointed to note that the organisers of the press event chose to completely ignore the developments that have taken place on this matter over the past two months, along with the meetings that have been held and the new proposals that have been put forward. It is therefore legitimate to ask what the real goals of this press conference were,” said the statement.

The ministry said the government was obliged to find a solution for the Xemxija Hill problem, for the benefit and road safety of the Maltese and Gozitan people.

“Thus, despite the incorrect information being circulated, it is committed to continue seeking a solution – that will have the least possible impact on the surrounding environment – with the help of those who are prepared to put forward genuine proposals,” the statement concluded.