“It was a shock the first time we saw the proposed plans for the marina in the news. Unfortunately, we were not consulted before,” explained Marsascala town mayor Mario Calleja, after an emergency council meeting was held on Monday.

Speaking to the Malta Business Weekly, Calleja refers to a Transport Malta proposal for a yacht marina in Marsascala Bay that emerged last Friday. The 52-page tender document presents a preliminary design for a new marina that sprawls across the whole of the bay and caters for a total of over 700 yachts of varying sizes.

After severe backlash to plans, residents joined together to sign a petition, and the town council voted against the idea. The project has been met with mostly negative feedback. Marsascala PN minority leader John Baptist Camilleri described the project as “suicide” for the town – with many sharing his views. However, one commenter compared the project more to a “murder” than a suicide. NGO Moviment Graffitti blasted the project, saying that the project was excessive and would take up a lot of public space, which people use for swimming and recreation.

Calleja continued, “After the plans were issued, we then decided to hold an urgent council meeting on Monday, we also requested a meeting with Transport Malta. During the local council meeting, eight members voted against the proposal, whilst one abstained. A motion approved during the council meeting condemned the publication of the pre-qualification questionnaire without any prior consultation and called for the document to be withdrawn.”

Read the full sttory on the Malta Business Weekly.