Promises for the roofing of the Santa Venera tunnels continue to be ignored by the PL, said the PN's chief spokesperson Peter Agius, joined by PN candidate and Minority Leader of Santa Venera’s local council, Darren Carabott.

Speaking on the bridge above Triq Reġjonali in Santa Venera, Agius and Carabott said that there is a need for the roofing of the busy Santa Venera tunnels as due to the increase of traffic, the residents of Santa Venera are enduring excessive noise and air pollution.

Agius said that there has been a long overdue promise for the commencement of works for the roofing of the tunnels. He said that it has been mentioned during the 2017 general election in the PL  manifesto, where it was said that there would be the studies regarding the possibility of the roofing of these tunnels. Beforethe Local Council election in 2019, the PL sustained that they had the funds available for the job in the budget of that year, said Agius.

Agius went on to say that till today, the PL has yet to submit the blueprints for the project with the Planning Authority, and has yet to complete the necessary studies.

Carabott added that both the former and current Ministers for the Environment, Jose Herrera and Aaron Farrugia respectively, have presented conflicting arguments with regards to the project. In 2019, Minister Herrera said that the funds have been reserved in the 2019 Budget, while a few days ago, Minister Farrugia said that the government is exploring possibilities of partnerships with private sectors for the funding.

Agius said that this is a clear indication that the PL keeps promising without the intent of delivering on those promises.

Carabott said that the PN is appealing to the government to stop taking advantage of the Santa Venera resident’s health for political gain and instead favour the common interests and needs of the residents first.