The Marsascala local council this week said in unequivocal terms that it is totally against the yacht marina being proposed by Transport Malta. But, judging by replies given to this newsroom by the transport authority, this saga is far from over.

In fact, the replies strongly suggest that TM, ergo the ministry it falls under (led by none other than Ian Borg), will push ahead with its plans, regardless of what everyone else thinks.

In fact, questions sent by this newspaper about the council’s 8-1 vote against the project were ignored by Borg’s ministry. They were instead replied to by Transport Malta, which defended its ‘vision’ for Marsascala bay. 

Transport Malta said that with the exponential growth of the yachting industry in Malta, the scope of the project is to develop Marsascala into a yachting centre, making it and the Southern region area more “appealing.” It also argued that artistic impressions published in the media were just that – that these are not the final plans.

First of all, we were not aware that Transport Malta has taken upon itself the responsibility of making parts of Malta more appealing to tourists. In fact, we were under the impression that tourism falls under the Tourism Ministry and the Malta Tourism Association.

Secondly, its argument about the artistic impressions is irrelevant. The point is that it is proposing a yacht marina that would cater for over 700 vessels of different sizes. And the council has made it clear that there is no way of doing that without taking over the entire bay.

The council has also rightly argued that it was not consulted over the matter. In reply, Transport Malta says the council “shall participate in the decision-making process.” Which means that the political decision to turn Marsascala into a yacht marina has already been taken, and the council will only be consulted as a token gesture.

Furthermore, TM said the plan is for the marina to be environmentally friendly. Yet it has so far failed to consult environment experts, who would probably say that any form of marina, with the influx of vessels it would bring into the bay, will be anything but environmentally friendly. Not to mention the fact that residents, fishermen and bathers who use the bay will be hard pressed to find some space of their own.

It was also disappointing to see how the Environment Minister, Aaron Farrugia, reacted to the marina plans. He compared these plans with those, decades ago, to build an airport in Luqa. May we remind the minister that an airport – a single one at that – is an absolute necessity for the country, while a yacht marina that serves only to attract rich tourists and their boats to Marsascala is not.

This is a government that says it listens to the people. Well, the people have spoken. They have made it clear that they do not want a yacht marina in Marsascala. For us, this should be the end of the story. If people don’t want it, don’t force it on them.

Time will tell whether this is really a ‘Gvern li jisma’.