'Better late than never,' the Nationalist Party said in reaction to a government announcement that two new ships will be added to the Gozo Channel fleet as part of a €130 million investment that will expand the service.

Just a few days after a press conference held by the Opposition in Ċirkewwa, and following the chaos that arose on both sides of the channel during the festive period, "the Government has announced that it will be modernising the Gozo Channel fleet through investment in two new vessels and upgrades to the three existing vessels, one of which will start being used for the transport of cargo between Mġarr Harbour and the Freeport. In place of the Nikolaos, another vessel will be leased."

"Better late than never. Even if we still have to wait at least another three years for the new vessels to arrive - since no tender has yet been issued and the Government is still at the stage of drawing up designs and beginning work on the procurement process. Even in the case of the vessel that will be chartered to replace the Nikolaos, the call has yet to be issued."

The PN said that it cannot but welcome this development with satisfaction, "all the more so because it has been insisting for many years on exactly what the Government announced today - even if thirteen years late."

"All the more so because what was announced with great fanfare by three Ministers is in fact an exact photocopy of the proposals that the PN has been putting forward for years, with the Government now set to implement what the PN has long been proposing."

"This also includes the setting up of a Task Force that still has to study what infrastructural improvements are required at Mġarr Harbour to accommodate these changes - a proposal that the PN has also been making for years," the party said.

"It is a pity", the PN said, that 13 years "were wasted" before the Government took this decision and that, "after burdening Gozitans and Maltese with a second-hand vessel like the Nikolaos for so many years, it is now, because an election is approaching, trying to show that it is doing something."

"We are now being told that the solution will come in 2029, when the solution was needed today and should have been planned long ago."

Had the Government accepted the proposals that the Opposition has been making for years, "we would already be enjoying the ferry service between Malta and Gozo that we deserve in today's times."

"Naturally, however, better late than never. Provided that what was announced today is actually implemented. We only hope that this is not yet another Silly Season promise, and that the Minister for Finance - who was not present for today's briefing with journalists - has approved these announced projects."

Studies to increase Gozo Channel fleet started over two years ago – PL

“The Opposition hasn’t changed: it does not welcome government investment and does not offer serious solutions,” the PL said, reacting to the PN.

“This plan has a clear goal: to improve the service and meet the ever-growing needs of residents, students, workers, tourists, and even Maltese and Gozitan entrepreneurs. And precisely because it is a serious plan, studies on an investment of around €130 million began more than two years ago,” the party said.

“Despite this, today the PN is saying that this is 'what the Leader of the Opposition proposed.' But the facts are clear: the study had actually started two years before Alex Borg became Leader of the PN. This means the PN is not only trying to copy, but it is trying to take credit for work it did not even think of doing,” the party continued.

The PL concluded: “It is a Labour Government that is reinvesting in connectivity and responding to today’s realities, as Gozo is becoming the natural choice for more people and as a destination.”