Updated 8.20pm

The Gozo ferries churned out 13 times the pollution that their cargo of vehicles would generate if they drove through a tunnel instead, a town hall debate on the proposed permanent link heard on Monday night.

The debate, organised by the heritage NGO Wirt Ghawdex, drew dozens of concerned Gozitans who filled the main hall of the Don Bosco Oratory in Victoria on Monday evening.

Former MP Franco Mercieca from the Malta-Gozo steering committee got the evening underway, laying into “myths” about the proposed tunnel, which he said were clouding the debate.

The fear that traffic would increase, should the ferries be replaced by a tunnel, was not necessarily true, he said.

On concerns of increased pollution, Dr Mercieca said a recent study had found that the ferries churned out around 13 times that expected to come from traffic in the tunnel.

“And in the future, once the tunnel is complete, we will be looking at much more green cars - with even less pollution,” he said.

What about the risk of over-development spreading to Gozo if a tunnel were dug? Dr Mercieca said localities like Marsalforn had already been ruined through over-development. The solution to too much building was proper planning regulations, he argued.

“People say Gozo will lose its charm with a tunnel. But Gozo is losing its Gozitans, and if it loses those, there will be no Gozo left,” Dr Mercieca concluded.

He was followed by another seven speakers who addressed the crowd.

Joe Muscat from the Gozo Tourism Association said the organisation would be drafting a survey and study to see how the tunnel would impact the sister island’s tourism industry. Would Gozo become a day trip destination? Would Gozo still be a different destination to Malta? Or would it become an add-on for a half-day drive around?

The solution to Gozo’s problems, he said, was not a tunnel, but to bring Gozo up to the standard of the mainland.

“Let us make sure that the tunnel does not become the Brexit of Gozo,” Mr Muscat said.

If applause could be a gauge of the audience’s position, then those who gathered in the hall seem to be against the introduction of a tunnel.

Sean Zammit from the Association of Gozitan Employees Working in Malta questioned whether the tunnel was truly intended to address Gozitan workers’ problems.

Was change necessary? Yes, the current situation was not acceptable, he argued, but a vehicular tunnel was not necessarily the solution.

The possibility of improving the existing ferry system through the introduction of a fourth ferry, together with a park and ride system and a fast ferry, were raised.

Weighing in on fears raised earlier by Dr Mercieca about Gozo’s “brain drain problem”, Mr Zammit said this would be solved by bringing quality jobs to the island and not by digging a tunnel.

John Pace, who used to head Gozo General Hospital, expressed concerns that the tunnel was not a solution to Gozo’s problems. Surely, he said, the existing ferry system could be improved to meet commuters’ needs.

And as for Gozitan students? According to the GUG the majority felt a tunnel would be detrimental to the peace and tranquility of the sister isle - a sentiment that drew appeals from the crowd.

That said, waking up at 5am to make an 8am lecture in Malta was also not sustainable.

Samuel Azzopardi of the Gozitan Regional Committee said the matter had been discussed by Gozo’s mayors during a meeting last month to reach a common position. They agreed that an improved link was not only justified but needed.

Around 3,000 people have signed a parliamentary petition opposing the planned tunnel, which they claim would cause “irreversible harm”. The petition calls on legislators to prevent the permanent link from being built, warning that the tunnel would bring with it increased traffic, noise and air pollution.

Government plans for a 13-kilometre tunnel running from Manikata to Nadur, which could be completed within five years, have drawn criticism over the effect of increased traffic on the sister island, as well as environmental impacts at the entrance and exit points.

Critics have also raised concern about the massive amount of construction waste the project would generate and the controversial prospect of land reclamation being presented as the only means of addressing the issue.

Studies, however, have consistently pointed to high levels of support for the project.

A Social Impact Assessment carried out by Marvin Formosa in 2017 found that around 82 per cent of Gozitan respondents were in favour of the tunnel, with most citing reduced travelling times between the two islands and the lack of weather-related disruption compared to the ferry.

A later study by Vincent Marmara for Transport Malta confirmed these conclusions and also found similar levels of support among Maltese people. The vast majority of respondents said they would travel between Malta and Gozo more frequently if the tunnel were to be built.

Although environmental studies are still being carried out, the government has made clear its intentions to forge ahead with the project, with a call for tenders planned to be issued in the coming months.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has said the tunnel would be followed by the introduction of free public transport linking Gozo to the airport, Mater Dei Hospital and other strategic locations across Malta, but has ruled out a rail system.

A call for offers regarding the Malta-Gozo tunnel project is expected to be published within the few weeks.

The government has already submitted plans concerning the project to the EU Journal and a 'Prior Information Notice' was published in the EU’s official gazette of record earlier this year.