Roads in Malta fall under the responsibility of Infrastructure Malta (IM) while the Gozo Ministry is in charge of the roads in Gozo. Funds to cover the related expenses for roads in Gozo seem to come from different sources, though ultimately the taxpayer carries the last bill.

Access to Gozo Ferry Terminal at Cirkewwa depends on three primary arteries. One through the Salini by-pass for traffic from Valletta and Sliema, the Burmarrad/St Paul’s bypass for traffic from the central part of Malta, mainly Mosta, while another road leads traffic through the Golden Bay section. So access to Gozo from Malta falls under the responsibility of the Minister of Infrastructure. Last January, the Prime Minister appointed Chris Bonett as Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works to replace Aaron Farrugia. Minister Bonett immediately set out to implement crucial road projects. 

So while the several NGOs in Gozo, including the Gozo Regional Development Authority (GRDA) are concerned with improving Gozo’s accessibility problems, they never refer to the limiting problems of the roads leading to Cirkewwa. 

One of the first initiatives of Transport Minister Chris Bonett in March 2024 was to splash out a direct order to the tune of €7 million to create a new two kilometre lane leading to the Ferry terminal in Cirkewwa. 

This reversed the scope of the original road’s single-lane configuration, which was designed and built in 2012 with European Union funds as a deliberate traffic-calming measure.

According to road experts: “In 2012, when the road was rebuilt, it was designed so that cars would not be able to speed up to reach a departing ferry. That is why it was a single lane. Now Minister Chris Bonett reversed the situation by creating a major accident-prone road because of possible speeding. This is pure madness.”

Still, this is merely short term planning to minimise the chaos resulting from lack of space when vehicles are queuing to board the ferries during full activity weekends in Gozo such as during Carnival and Easter.

Another permanent solution and cheaper would have been to provide adequate parking waiting slots in nearby areas, so the lane leading to the terminal would have been always free.

But the former transport Minister Aaron Farrugia adopted an opposite reasoning. He forked out a whopping €8 million to accommodate the catering outlets at Ghadira bay by providing them with more parking spaces by removing one lane, which was part of the Ten-T road network. Again, there are parking facilities nearby, but these outlets preferred these spaces in front of their entrances.

So, despite spending all these millions, they completely neglected another artery leading to Cirkewwa. This is the Mgarr – Manikata - Mellieha road. The yearly flow of vehicles to Cirkewwa is now estimated to be about 1.5 million in one direction. Sliema area depends on Salini road Mosta area on Burmarrad road and further other parts of Malta such as Zebbug, Airport and Mgarr depend on the Mgarr Manikata road. Access to this road which I am mainly referring to is from Zebbiegh (limits of Mgarr) to Mellieha is a two-lane (one lane each direction) road.

It’s fair to assume that the Manikata road serves about one million vehicles of all types in both directions yearly. 

Gozo Regional Development Agency (GRDA), in its 10 year (2023- 2033) strategic plan, refers to connectivity to Malta as critical to Gozo’s development and lists good primary road connectivity as one of its strengths. 

GRDA fails miserably to advise the Minister of Gozo and Planning about the investment needed to improve access to Cirkewwa, especially through this Manikata road. The €700 million road improvement program, which was trumpeted by then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in the 2017 election manifesto, failed to include this road.

I humbly invite the three Gozitan Ministers, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, and the Prime Minister, to experience this sort of road at 4am in the morning or at late dark hours at night during a moonless night amid a wintry, rainy day. It’s a spine chilling experience, believe me.

I really cannot understand by any stretch of the imagination why no one from the ministries concerned, no minister, no MP and none from the NGOs in Gozo never raised a finger and pointed out the hazardous state of this road. During early hours in the morning, supply vehicles proceed towards Gozo. This is normally between 3:00-6:00hrs in the morning. In the evenings, personal vehicles proceed both ways from 20:00hrs onwards.

To begin with, the road is with no lights. That is not all. Kerbs and pavements are non-existent. Some stretches of this road are zero tolerant to any driver error, as the driver may end up in a field below.

Road signage leaves much to be desired. The driver is at a loss where the road is leading to. Centre painted lines are absent or are so faint the drivers can hardly see them. 

Road studs retro-reflective safety devices (cat’s eyes) would be very helpful, but these are in short supply, while road markings reminding the driver of the prevailing speed limit should also prove to be beneficial.

During a rainfall, the lower parts of the Manikata road always flood, and this has been a common occurrence for several years now. 

Well, this road is missing all the qualities and standards of a normal road. 

I really admire the coach and heavy vehicle drivers tackling this challenging road in the early hours of the day during all seasons to earn a living under such arduous conditions. 

I repeatedly ask myself, but who supervises this road? Mellieha, Mgarr local councils, Infrastructure Malta or Transport Malta? A serious, if not fatal, accident is waiting to happen. Then I am certain all these ministries and councils do their best to dismiss their responsibilities.

First section of this road from (Mgarr) Zebbiegh  leads also to a five-star hotel and Golden Bay beach. What impression first-time visitors may have about this road remains my curiosity. 

Frustrated Manikata residents who feel “hijacked” in their own village have come together to fight mounting traffic. The newly formed Manikata Residents Association said that vehicles are passing through narrow, rural, residential roads without speed ramps, zebra crossings, or flat roundabouts, “risking a tragedy in the making” and turning Manikata into a “heavy traffic highway.”

After a series of scandals and the removal of the former prime minister, the Labour Party is striving to regain credibility with voters. In terms of performance, Gozo and Manikata have been a major disappointment.