So is the current hype about building an underground road tunnel a ruse or perhaps a pipe dream of some politicians? Do the islanders support such a link? A negative answer can be found in Roamer’s column (an anonymous writer/s in The Sunday Times of Malta). In a header entitled “Linking Gozo – hope not”, the ghost writer is against the project, saying inter alia that the exclusive charm of Gozo has to do with getting there by boat or sea-plane and this will be forfeited. In Roamer’s words, perhaps only underwater rats are ordained to burrow underground and enjoy the experience but not Gozitans! Such an underground trip misses out on the aesthetics provided by the profile of an island that has charmed travellers, both local and foreign, since time immemorial.

Again, with the memories of the earthquake disaster in Japan, one may well ask what are the inherent risks with building such an underground connection. According to Prof. Eivind Grøv (chief scientist with Norwegian firm Sintef Building and Infrastructure), data collected from Iceland and Japan shows that during an earthquake it is safer to be underground. Apart from safety, there are more advantages to be reaped by building such a tunnel. He opines that an underground tunnel has three major advantages over a bridge or a causeway: it will not be an obstruction to sea traffic; it is an all-weather permanent link and incurs lower maintenance costs. Prof. Grøv opines that Gozo could see an immediate increase of between 10 and 20 per cent in traffic flow, which could continue to increase gradually in subsequent years. Naturally, more traffic equates more business opportunities but it might also kill the serenity so much loved by romantics such as Roamer. Yes, it is always a trade-off but parliamentary secretary Dr Said thinks that Gozo is consistently struggling to retain its human resources, as relatively few young people who pursue and graduate from tertiary education rarely remain in Gozo due to scant professional opportunities. Dr Said attributes this perpetual brain-drain to “successes achieved in the education sphere”, adding that over 1,000 Gozitans are currently reading for a degree at the University of Malta or following tertiary education in Malta. But is the tunnel feasible? The answer will be given shortly when a professional study is completed this year.

Dr Said said that “it all boils down to sustainable development”, pointing out that increased business opportunities may lead to higher investment in tourism, industry and also upmarket agri-tourism. In the short term, this would follow in a more sustainable use of the island’s natural beauty without impinging in any way on its rustic character. But why not continue to expand the present ferry service provided by Gozo Channel? The answer is that the ferry services should not be the exclusive link to both islands. It does not come at a cheap price either. Suffice to say that the ferry provides the night service and reduced rates to Gozitans and Maltese senior citizens, thanks to the annual government contribution of €4.5 million as part of the public service obligation. Therefore a viable alternative to the ferry will definitely enhance commuter choice. This is partly reflected in the comparatively low turnout of tourists to the island who tend to be day trippers, hence the closure of so many hotels in the past years. This was confirmed in a recent survey by the Gozo Tourism Association, which concluded that the majority of tourism owners termed their performance during the first quarter of 2011 as ‘bad’, while 36.4 per cent qualified their business performance as ‘fair’. Only 11.4 per cent said business was ‘good’, and just 4.5 per cent described it as ‘very good’. Thus tourism to Gozo is typically seasonal and does not have a proper tourism infrastructure except for a motley group of cheap residential accommodation and low quality self-catering establishments.

So how can a tunnel become a reality? What is the cost of digging and annual maintenance? Professor Eivind Grøv gave some of the answers at a recent talk. He said building a tunnel takes between five to 10 years, though the length of time varies between three to four years for planning and programming and another two to three for the actual construction. The good news is that the rock in the area of the channel between Malta and Gozo seems to be “geologically promising”. Prof. Grøv, who is president of the Norwegian Tunnelling Society, observed that in Norway there are 30 underground tunnels ranging in length from 1.6km to 7.8km. It is interesting to note that the excavation of the first 150 metres on both sides is the most prone to accidents. He recalls only a few major accidents in Norway and to date no tunnel project has been abandoned, highlighting the importance of pre-investigations to identify the geological risks while experts have to decide on the structural feasibility of a tunnel. It may come as a surprise that an underground tunnel connecting Gozo and Malta has to be dug some 14 storeys or more below the seabed. A rough guess on excavation costs could reach the princely sum of €91 million for a seven kilometre tunnel, at an average cost of around €13,000 per metre. Naturally, there will be other finishing costs which on completion the final price tag may approach the total figure of around €200 million. What about maintenance costs? Based on an underground tunnel to be built in the Faroe Islands, maintenance costs could be around €130 per metre per year, which works out at under €1 million p.a. By comparison, this sum is one sixth of the annual subsidy paid to the Gozo Channel monopoly that operates the ferry service.

Now that we have discovered the cost and the advantages of owing it, who will pay for this project and is there any EU assistance? Luckily, our politicians are assuring us that funds can be sourced by applying under the Ten-T scheme funded by the EU. According to Dr Said (who is piloting the project), there are various possibilities of obtaining EU funds for the project. But having already amassed a debt mountain of over €5 billion, can we afford to add another molehill on it? Brussels wants us to cut debt and Moody’s have slapped a negative ranking on our future. Perhaps by saying that priorities in the past were skewed and we squandered our opportunities when we sold our family silver on the cheap can reverse the argument. Whoever was in the saddle at the Privatisation Unit was partly responsible for not reducing such a debt mountain. But as is customary, political expediency dictates that no head will roll and in fairness Brussels will not hold Gozitans to ransom.

Moving on, election fever is in the air and neither political party has objected to giving the project a try. But for the Gozitans the merit goes to an energetic Chris Said in spearheading a crusade to improve the islanders’ standard of living. Will a future tunnel revolutionalise the island’s business centre to enable the first “onshore” companies to register in a thriving Gozo Financial Services Authority located in a prestigious place such as Banca Giuratale. Visionaries do see it as the start of a long journey to recreate a futuristic Cayman in the Med. But this can only happen if the infrastructure is in place and superior internet connections (through the tunnel) is guaranteed for back-office services. Critics may affirm that the cost of the tunnel is too high for a small population of 30,000 and there are higher priorities such as improving the road infrastructure. But pro-tunnel adherents reply that rewards in faster business growth will in the medium term militate against such costs. Purists tell us that the lack of a permanent link limits the right of Gozitans and businesses based in Gozo to fully enjoy freedom of movement guaranteed by the EU.

To conclude, as Dr Said said, “It is high time we recognise the fact that Gozo inhabitants want to contribute to their own personal development and improve standards of living for their families.” Maybe the fair island of Calypso that lured Ulysses to its shores will wake up from its slumber and take the decisive step to reduce its insularity. Looking positively to the future one dreams of a Gozo attracting more investment in fields that provide high value-added starting from financial services to nanotechnology to Cloud computing. Slowly but surely the present brain drain will subside.

The writer is a partner in PKF Malta,

an audit and business advisory firm.