Any changes to Gozo’s planning laws should not “shock the system” but must focus on what is bothering people most: the aesthetics of a project and how it integrates with its surroundings, Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri said.

Camilleri was speaking in an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday where the topic of planning and construction in Gozo was extensively discussed.

The matter of construction and development spreads far and wide when it comes to Gozo. A significant number of construction projects of some scale in a number of localities such as Marsalforn, Xlendi, Nadur, Qala and others have cropped up, leading to concerns that Gozo is on track to become as similarly overbuilt as Malta.

Camilleri agrees that these concerns are valid. He believes that what bothers people most – and he expresses that he agrees with their annoyance – is “how we are building”.

He says that it is with this in mind that the Gozo Regional Development Authority has been tasked with coming up with proposals to propose amendments to planning legislation concerning Gozo “so that we can – without shocking the system – correct some things”.

An example of this, he explains, could be that new buildings must use limestone rather than concrete bricks for their facades in order to improve the aesthetics of new developments.

He says that he met with the coalition Għal Għawdex, which has a number of proposals in this regard. He continues that some of those proposals are “very valid” while others are “perhaps a bit more adventurous”.

“With the right decisions – and I want to be clear: we do not want to shock the system and take us back prior to 2013 – and with the right consultations, I think that in the future, as these changes will not happen overnight, we will see new developments which are just and respect their surroundings, be those surrounding the ODZ behind them, the houses next to them or the streetscape,” Camilleri explains.

Asked whether a second look at height limits around Gozo could be a part of these measures, however, Camilleri said that this may be too disruptive to the sector.

“My sincere opinion is that we need to bring about change which isn’t hurting families,” he says.

“If there is a change, when it comes to the potential of the property, then we would be disrupting the sector, but also financially hurting our families,” he continues.

“I believe that if a person today bought a plot or house and can build up to three storeys: I believe they can build their three storeys, but there is a way and a way. You have to respect the surroundings: the material, the context of the whole street and the views of when one is walking in that street,” he concludes.

Zeroing in on the case of a possible development which has long been discussed. The Hondoq ir-Rummien saga has been widely reported over the last two decades, with plans to turn the area into a port and yacht marina along with a 195-bedroom hotel and 300 apartments, being rejected by the Planning Authority once and for all late last year.

However, the bay remains designated as an area which would consider “tourism and marine-related development” under the 2006 local plans, and the decision by the PA to reject the application is now subject to a court appeal by the developers.

One of the Labour Party’s electoral pledges last year was that Hondoq ir-Rummien would remain untouched – a position which Camilleri says the PL – unlike its political counterparts, the PN, which had changed the local plans to allow the possibility of development in 2006 – has always held.

Camilleri was however asked how the government would ensure that Hondoq remains untouched, particularly in view of the fact that the local plans have not been changed and that there is a court case now ongoing.

“I think that as a government when we give our word, we keep it. Without wanting to prejudice the case, I find it difficult to see how a court would overturn a decision in view of the previous rejections, when in actual fact today the decisions coming out of court usually go the other way round,” Camilleri says.

“We will keep our promise and the government will take the necessary decisions if it has to – but I don’t think it will get to that point,” he adds.

On the topic of infrastructural planning, earlier this month NGOs lost a court appeal on the widening of a road between Rabat and Marsalforn which does not see much vehicular traffic, but which will result in the loss of 11,000 square metres of agricultural land and 300 trees.

Asked about the project though, Camilleri says that there were a number of “mistruths” or perhaps a lack of explanation from the ministry’s end about the project.

He said that the number of lanes in the road was not going to increase – contrary to what was being said, meaning that it will remain a one-lane road on either side of the carriageway. The land take-up is down to the addition of a “minimal” lane for cycling and another for pedestrians, while some more land will be taken up in order to remove dangers on certain curvatures.

Camilleri continued that the ministry had been in several meetings with Din L-Art Helwa on the project, and that a revised plan – in spite of the fact that the courts had backed the original plans – for the road is set to be unveiled in the coming days.

The revised plans will aim to retain the rural characteristics of the road by limiting the number of trees which are to be uprooted, he said.

 

Gozo airfield is primarily a facilities project, but government does not exclude PSO for air service – Camilleri

The chief question when it comes to connectivity between Malta and Gozo has, for the past few years at least, been on the Gozo tunnel.

The 14-kilometre subsea road link between Malta and Gozo was championed by the Muscat administration having been initially proposed by the previous Nationalist government but – particularly due the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine – has now fallen by the wayside.

In fact, Prime Minister Robert Abela himself admitted last year that the plans had been placed on the backburner and were not a priority for the time being.

Asked whether this is still the case today, Camilleri said that it is.

“I think it’s still the case [that it is not a priority] in the context that even because of the circumstances which Malta and the rest of the world went through, certain priorities change,” Camilleri says.

However, he continues, connectivity remains the “number one priority” and adds that the government has “fully invested in this sector”.

“In 2013, we found Gozo connected to Malta through trips by the three Gozo Channel ferries. We started by introducing the fourth vessel to the fleet and we increased from 15,000 trips per year to 35,000 per year. We are seeing an average increase of 7% in passengers every year, so the service is becoming a bit more strained in order to keep up with demand, but we have also invested in other methods,” Camilleri begins.

The fast ferry is the first such “other method” which the Gozo Minister mentions, saying that it is “our commitment to keep this going as its primary aim is to satisfy the needs of Gozitans who work in Valletta and the surrounding area, but it also serves as another road which brings tourists to the island”.

The fast ferry service only started after a tendering process which became so traumatic that the government ultimately opted to just open the service up to the free market and – ergo – anyone who pleased.

Two operators jumped into the market, and while the service initially flourished, the number of trips soon decreased and both operators – Virtu Ferries and Gozo Fast Ferry Ltd – told Parliament that the service was not financially viable and that the government should step in with a Public Service Obligation to help run it.

A Public Service Obligation – or PSO, for short – is essentially a government subsidy against a set number of conditions established by the government in order to ensure that a service continues to be provided. A PSO is already in place, for example, for the Gozo Channel service.

Asked whether the government being committed – as he said – to the service being run therefore means that a similar PSO is on the cards, Camilleri said that it is an option which the government is looking at.

“Presently we are giving help so that the service keeps going with a schedule which works for everyone, as the worst thing is if there isn’t the peace of mind of the service operating on time and consistently. But in the long-term we are looking at a PSO, like we have with the Gozo Channel,” he says.

He said that discussions are ongoing with the Transport Ministry in this regard, and said that the PSO would also impose that the ferry schedule would include trips at certain times, as established by extended consultations with Gozitans.

Asked whether the PSO may include extending the service to other localities besides Valletta, Camilleri didn’t exclude it but said that one would have to see whether it is viable and commented that if one adds destinations then the ferry service could become more like a hop-on-hop-off ferry rather than a fast ferry, which is not what the government wants.

On connectivity, Camilleri also points to the importance of the second fibre optic cable between Malta and Gozo as something to attract the digital economy to the island, and he also mentions plans – which have now been filed at the Planning Authority – for a small airfield in Xewkija as well.

“It’s an important step when it comes to connectivity – firstly because it can offer a connection between the two islands, but it can also be important to attract new investment to Gozo,” Camilleri says on the airfield.

“There is a demand from a number of aviation schools to relocate to Gozo because the Malta International Airport is very busy. There are also those interested in drone testing and in sports. So I think that as an island it’s important to have the facilities there to offer the opportunity for more investment to come in,” he adds.

It wouldn’t be the first time that there is an air link between Malta and Gozo: a helicopter service between Malta and Gozo lasted just 18 months, after the Spanish company, which operated it, shut up shop in 2006. A seaplane service, which operated between Mgarr Harbour and Valletta’s Grand Harbour lasted considerably longer – between 2007 and 2012 – but ultimately met the same fate as the helicopter.

Asked what makes him think that an air service now may be different, Camilleri points out that what the government is applying for is the facility rather than the establishment of a service.

“While not excluding a PSO when it comes to an air service, rather than having a service between Malta and Gozo the idea is to have a facility for companies to offer their services from there,” Camilleri says.

He points out that a nine- to 11-seater aircraft, which is what the 450-metre proposed runway can allow, is considerably cheaper to operate than a helicopter and there may also be trips from international airlines which connect Gozo to other islands in the Mediterranean.

The latter possibility would be a first for Gozo and is more than what was said at the initial launch press conference, which had said that the airfield would handle only domestic connections.

“I don’t think we should rush into saying that it isn’t viable. In truth, even if you see other countries in Europe, wherever you have periphery islands you cannot just see the economic viability of the services,” Camilleri says.

“If we had to look at just economic viability we would stop the Gozo Channel, not create any new opportunities in Gozo and go back a hundred years to be self-sufficient with everyone having their own farm. I don’t think that’s the direction we should be heading in: Gozo is part of Malta and I believe that it is necessary for Gozo as a periphery island to be assisted as required,” he adds.

Delving into the topic of transport: Gozo is one of 100 places across Europe aiming to be climate neutral by 2030 – a no doubt lofty and ambitious target.

“It’s not easy… it’s an immensely ambitious target,” Camilleri admits when asked how the government is going to achieve this.

He says that the greatest challenge that every place is facing is that in order to reach this target “we need to admit that we need to change the way we live and go from one place to another”.

Camilleri’s answer centres around cars and traffic: he mentions initiatives such as the recently announced Victoria Park project which will move traffic away from the centre and offer underground parking and a green open space on ground level and a park and ride project in Xewkija which is already ongoing with six electric buses.

“It’s not an easy road – I think we would be deluding ourselves if we thought it is. But we need to slowly introduce a change in mentality by setting the example as a government and investing in fiscal incentives to encourage this,” Camilleri says.

 

The first part of the interview was carried in The Malta Business Weekly on Thursday