No new major infrastructural projects were announced in the budget, and the omission of others on which there was so much public discussion in the past years likely means that they are no longer a priority for the government.

In his budget speech last Monday, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said that during 2023, the government will work towards the completion of the Mriehel underpass, which will soon be completed, the Kirkop tunnels, the airport intersection project and the Luqa junction.

Caruana also mentioned new plans for the Msida Creek project, which was brought to public attention on Sunday by Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia. To make one comment on the graphic that was sent to the media, it seems that the flyover and other parts of the network will have one lane in each direction – history has taught us that wherever we have a one-lane stretch, traffic inevitably slows down or comes to a halt. Are we still in time to make adjustments? As things stand now, Malta will be spending €18 million and we will still have bottlenecks.

Aside from these projects, nothing else was mentioned. This leads us to believe that the government, at least for the coming year, has no intention to proceed with the St Andrew’s project. A notice that was affixed to the walls on the side of the road in 2019 speaks of a project to make traffic smoother there. But nearly four years have now passed and nothing has happened. Does the government still intend to proceed with that project? Or is it working on a change of plan as happened with Msida? Or has the project been shelved?

Speaking of shelving of projects, there is no mention at all in the budget about the metro system that the government so proudly announced in the run-up to the March election. Neither was there any mention of the Gozo tunnel. In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday before the budget, Caruana made it clear that there were other priorities. Last Sunday, Malta Today reported that the tunnel project has been shelved.

But the government is still to properly pronounce itself on the matter. When asked about the metro and the Malta - Gozo tunnel, Prime Minister Abela just said that studies are still ongoing for both projects. For the tunnel, he also said the it is undergoing the procurement process, but he said that it was not the government's priority. 

It is understandable that, with the situation as it is, the government is using big money to avoid putting financial pressure on families and businesses. The energy crisis is not a joke and €1 billion in two years in subsidies is a hefty sum. But it would be better if the government makes its intentions more clear on what it is going to do – or not do, on these particular projects.

Let us remember that traffic is among the biggest problems that the country is facing. But it was only mentioned once in the budget – to say that discussions are in hand with the stakeholders for service vehicles not to be on the road before 9am. That would be a good step, but so much more needs to be done.