Gudja residents are worried that the planned airport extension, which will include commercial outlets such as a supermarket, will impact on small businesses.
“The country and Gudja will not gain anything from commercial activities there.
“They should look at other areas where these commercial activities can be based; in a place that benefits the community,” one resident said during a public consultation meeting organised by the local council.
During the meeting, held last Friday, mayor Mario Calleja assured residents present that the council was working hard to ensure that the project would take the interests of Gudja residents into consideration.
He said the council had three main concerns.
First, the project would increase traffic in the area – by about 6,000 cars a day – resulting in more traffic congestion and parking problems.
Secondly, he said, a proposed new reservoir would not cope with large quantities of storm water that already caused flooding to the existing Gudja reservoir that overflowed into Wied Garnaw.
Finally, he said, the council was concerned that a proposed 2,300-square-metre supermarket would kill local businesses.
The planned expansion will take place wholly within the existing Malta International Airport complex comprising an area of more than 130,000 square metres.
The development application under consideration involves an extension of the existing terminal building, relocation of the petrol station, construction of five new buildings for a range of commercial and leisure uses and associated modifications to existing roads and service infrastructure and new roads and services as well as associated landscaping.
They should look at other areas where commercial activities can be based, one that benefits the community
According to the environment impact assessment, published in September, the proposed expansion will have a major impact on the landscape and may lead to the possible loss of cultural heritage.
The study noted the project would diminish long-distance open views of the area and affect Gudja and Għaxaq’s traditional townscapes dominated by parish churches as well as the rural setting and worked agricultural land.
Beyond that, the development would be highly visible from a range of viewpoints. Architect Carmel Cacopardo – who was appointed by the local council to assess the environmental impact statement presented by the developers’ consultants – told residents the council was insisting on a need for a retail impact assessment to assess the impact on businesses and town centres in Gudja and neighbouring towns.
So far, he said, studies had been limited to the impact of the new commercial infrastructure and not to the airport’s core operations.
The environment planning statement submitted by the developer as part of the planning application failed to identify the airport’s targets for passengers and flights handled in the near future, he added.
The project, which started with the Skyparks building, is planned for completion by 2024.
The Luqa area strategy specifically mentions the need to facilitate the expansion of the airport so it can act as a regional hub.
The project description statement says the expansion of the airport facilities is needed.
“The MIA must evolve to meet such present-day requirements in order to compete on a global scale. It must be established as a multi-modal centre of aviation supported by a business and trade centre,” according to the statement.
It states that the project will create up to 2,500 jobs in its operational phase, of which more than 800 were generated in the first phase.