Transport Minister Chris Bonett spoke about drafting a master plan for Qormi before major works are carried out, saying that there has been a lot of commercial development over the years.

"We are looking at Qormi from a more holistic aspect. Instead of doing works on one road or another, we are looking at it from a more holistic aspect," he said in response to a Parliamentary Question by MP Rosianne Cutajar, in order to reduce the inconvenience cause by the works.

To be frank, it is about time that the government starts thinking in terms of master plans when it comes to road works and infrastructural works in general.

There is no doubt that traffic on our roads is a major problem in the country, one that needs to be tackled through short, medium and long-term measures. Having a master plan in place to ensure road works minimise inconvenience in a locality is a step in the right direction.

But more holistic planning is needed in general. Had localities been better planned out in the past, and even recently, perhaps infrastructural issues would not be as prevalent.

Creating master plans to deal with transport issues, not just for Qormi, but for many key localities at least, is a must. But master plans must not just purely look at road infrastructure and transport issues. They should also include development planning.

It is clear to all that some areas are overdeveloped. Roads just cannot cater for the number of apartment blocks and office buildings in some zones. That was a failure in planning. Sewage infrastructure in some areas also struggles to keep up with the rate of development.

Areas which were once filled with townhouses now feature apartment blocks. Other areas feature high rises. But this was done without proper planning, and this resulted in infrastructural problems. This highlights the importance of holistic planning for the future. Major towns and localities need to be looked at holistically. If an area cannot handle a type of development due to the infrastructure available, then that development just cannot take place.

But not only. Questions must also be asked. Will certain developments ruin the character of an area? It has happened over the years. What were once beautiful zones have been turned into ugly mismatched streetscapes. Will certain developments be detrimental to the residents of an area? These points need to be considered, and ensuring an area's beauty and that residents are at the heart of decisions being taken is a must.

The lack of green areas in localities was also due to a lack of holistic planning.

But masterplanning also needs to take another factor into consideration, the long-term transport proposals. Politicians have been considering some form of mass transport system, but what that would look like exactly has not yet been set in stone. Will it be an underground? Will it be a trackless tram? Will it be something else? Whatever method is chosen will require infrastructural works. This is also something that must be decided before any long-term planning can really take place.

The government and the opposition need to agree on the way forward in this regard, as that is the only way a successful project can be guaranteed.

Whichever option is chosen will have an impact. If an underground is chosen, locations for stations would be needed, as will feeder bus routes to those stations. If a trackless tram is chosen, then bus lanes, so to speak, would be needed.