Infrastructure Malta last year spent €12.5 million on resurfacing more than 100 rural roads which were in a poor state, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg said on Tuesday.

He was speaking at Delimara, where road works - from rebuilding to repairs - are being completed.  

“These roads were in a disastrous state and were dangerous for farmers and residents, and for others who use these quiet routes for walking, running and cycling. This was unacceptable to us," the minister said.

Since it was set up in 2018, Infrastructure Malta completed works on 330 countryside roads in more than 30 localities. The rebuilding or resurfacing of another 22 roads is currently in progress, while works in several others are planned for the coming months.

In many cases, the works also involved the building of stormwater catchments linked to nearby agricultural reservoirs.

Infrastructure Malta is currently working with the Environment and Resources Authority to research and test new, environmentally-friendly paving materials that can be adopted for the surfaces of these roads in the future.