According to the National Transport Master Plan 2030, traffic will cost the Maltese public €770 million this year, the PN said in a statement.

"This amount is projected to rise to €917 million a year by 2030 if no drastic action is taken as soon as possible. Travel times continue to increase, we are spending more time stuck in traffic, and maintenance and fuel costs are rising."

A simple calculation shows that in under four years, traffic costs would exceed the €2.8 billion that Robert Abela now claims the Metro would cost, the party said.

"Another report projects that in 25 years' time, traffic will be costing us €1.28 billion per year. That means that, at that stage, the country would theoretically be able to build Prime Minister's Abela's Metro in just over two years purely from the amount wasted on congestion. The traffic crisis is deeply worrying not only from an economic standpoint but also because the daily congestion is steadily eroding our quality of life."

While Maltese and Gozitan drivers remain stuck in traffic every single day, "the Labour Government continues to go round in circles, completely lost on what mass transport system it wants to pursue," the PN said.

"Robert Abela says the Metro plan is still feasible; Clyde Caruana first described the Metro as a 'silly season promise', then went on to tell the Times of Malta 'it could royally screw Malta', Chris Bonett shifts from one position to another - one moment calling for an agreement on the Metro, the next saying the best option is the model proposed three years ago by the PN: a Trackless Tram/Rapid Bus Transit system."

"This confusion continues to paralyse a sector that has been jammed for years, while the country, meaning all of us, pays an enormous price," the PN continued.

"The Government often boasts about our economic growth. Yet the very figures published in the Master Plan show that Malta is losing 3.3% of its GDP because of traffic congestion. One of the first appeals made by Alex Borg upon becoming Leader of the Partit Nazzjonalista was precisely for both parties to sign a national agreement to deliver a modern and sustainable mass transport system, binding whichever government is in office to continue building it until completion."

The PN maintains that the country deserves serious vision and continuity, "not promises that change depending on who is speaking, where they are speaking, when they are speaking, or whether it happens to be the silly season. The Maltese people are waiting for a real solution, and the Government cannot continue running away from its responsibility."

The PN said that it has already extended its hand for collaboration on this matter.

"Malta cannot continue wasting €800 million a year just to remain gridlocked."

The PN statement was signed by Toni Bezzina, Shadow Minister for Transport, Agriculture and Fisheries