AX Holdings has been recognised as the preferred bidder of an alternative mode of transport project after an expression of interest was issued by Projects Malta - a project comprising an 800-metre sea tunnel linking Sliema with Valletta and Cottonera.
The call was for companies or individuals to provide alternative ways of transport in the harbour area
The submission was given the green light by Projects Malta – a dream come true for hotelier and construction magnate Anglu Xuereb – the brainchild of the project.
AX Holdings is the only company to have responded to the call.
Mr Xuereb is renowned for his innovative infrastructural proposals but it took years before one of his alternative transport-related proposals was given the green light.
In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, Mr Xuereb, who is chairman of AX Holdings, said that the tunnel project itself would cost some €10 million while the river boats would cost an additional €3 million which would be funded by Captain Morgan which is owned by the Zammit Tabona family.
Mr Xuereb had pointed out that the government has nothing to lose by giving the green light to his latest project, since he would be bearing the full cost of implementing it, a total €13 million.
The project can run throughout the year, since it involves the use of ferries to transport passengers in the relatively calm water from Sliema to Marsamxett and then simply sail through a seven-metre-high tunnel beneath Valletta and on to Cottonera.
“This project would have the potential to generate revenue from locals and foreigners alike but at the same time it will serve as a good alternative to other transport systems, while the fares for the ferry won’t break anybody’s back,” Mr Xuereb said.
The project, he said, could be finalised within 18 months – if it does not take too long for the permits to be issued – in time for Valletta 18. “Whoever evaluates the tender will be able to see that the plans go into extreme detail,” Mr Xuereb said.
Mr Xuereb said that his first proposal was a master plan for Valletta to help revive business back in 1989.
In an article published in The Times back in January 1989, he had said the country had reached the stage where the government had to take a bold decision and look at new forms of transportation, such as an underground transport system combined with an elevated railway system, referring to what is commonly referred to today as a ‘monorail system’.
But Mr Xuereb did not give up and 23 years later, in 2014, he revived his monorail idea but this time around settled for a monorail system that would be partly above ground level and a ferry service linking Sliema, Valletta and the Three Cities.
More information on the project will be divulged on Monday during a press event which is planned for Monday and which will be addressed by Transport Minister Joe Mizzi and Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi.