A licence to operate a comprehensive ferry service covering the Grand Harbour is in the offing and the authorities are expected to award a contract for the long-awaited service in the near future.

As opposed to the current, and somewhat underused, ferry service that links Sliema and Valletta, the new service being envisaged is to cover the entire breadth of Grand Harbour.

As such, the ferry service would link points of the Cottonera, or Three Cities, area to Valletta, and Valletta to the Sliema side of the Marsamxett Harbour.

Also on the cards are connections between different landing spots across Grand Harbour, enabling sea-based transportation to a variety of points in the harbour’s environs.

Out of a number of parties expressing interest in the initiative, the Malta Maritime Authority has chosen a preferred bidder. Final discussions are said to be underway and the parties are in the process crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s of the final agreement.

The ferry service is to form part of a wider public transport and accessibility plan for the whole of the Grand Harbour region and Valletta itself. As such, the new ferry service will tie in and link up to vertical access points being planned for the harbour’s Valletta side, which by means of lifts would cart commuters from lower to upper Valletta.