Transport Minister Ian Borg on Monday defended plans to develop Marsascala Bay into a yacht marina by saying that even a Nationalist government had built a marina in Vittoriosa, despite having earlier said it was against such plans, and despite people’s objections.

Borg was quizzed about the marina plans after another round of complaints by Marsasala residents. The local council has also come out against the proposal.

“The Nationalist government had come out against the idea of a yacht marina in Vittoriosa, yet when it was elected to power in 1998, it built the marina, despite the objections.”

Bort said that, as minister responsible for the sector, he “I will do what is necessary in its broadest sense, including listening to the local council as I did last week."

Borg said that the local plans drawn up by a nationalist government in 2006 and which are still in force today stipulate that yacht marinas can only be developed at Marsascala and Xemxija.

“There is an ongoing process, we have met with the council, but I will not engage with the campaign embarked on by a Nationalist candidate on the sector,” Borg said.

When there will be something to communicate, we will communicate it,” the minister continued.

When a journalist pointed out that the Labour-led council is also against the council, Borg said he had only seen a photo of a PN candidate addressing a press conference in the area.

He said that the PN had gone against the residents’ wishes before and would do it again.

On January 20, a meeting was held between the Marsascala Local Council and Borg, where the issue of the yacht marina planned by Transport Malta was discussed.

During the meeting, the Minister said it was just then he came to know of the Local Council's August 2021 motion, where a  call for investors in a yacht marina for Marsaskala Marsaskala was issued.

In accordance with a statement, Borg had acknowledged that this motion rejected all plans for the yacht marina and had proposed to the local Council to discuss the motion and, if they wanted to, reconsider by mid-February.

He had promised that Transport Malta would not go into the plan's second phase until the Local Council's final position was made clear.

Subsequently, the Council had met on January 24, where they agreed that they were going to uphold its August motion and informed the Minister and Transport Malta.

 

Video: Miguela Xuereb/Newsbook