A parking lot in Gozo’s capital Victoria could be turned into a green space, with cars moving to a multi-level underground car park beneath it.
Stakeholders have been asked for their views on the plans for Great Siege Square, unveiled on Saturday by Gozo’s regional development authority and the Gozo Ministry.
The preliminary consultation exercise, which will also serve as a feasibility study, will run until September 16.
Great Siege Square - which at one point was going to be the site of a never-developed new courthouse for Gozo - currently serves as a parking lot. If enacted, the proposal would see the area dug up and developed into an underground parking lot, with a park on the surface level.
The square currently serves as a parking lot. Photo:GoogleGozo Regional Development Authority CEO Mario Borg said the proposal is part of a regional strategy for the island.
It is unclear if the proposal replaces or is complementary to a similar plan, unveiled in 2023, to develop another large overground carpark close to the Victoria bus terminus in a similar fashion.
That proposal was unveiled by the authority in 2023 and opened to public consultation. Little has been heard of it since.
Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri said the proposal for Great Siege Square would “maximise the area’s potential while also addressing various challenges in Victoria.”
He said that the consultation exercise would eventually lead to a public call for expressions of interest into taking on the project and ultimately operating the car park.
The minister said the plan was part of a series of other projects intended to address traffic-related issues in Gozo. He cited work to remove a bottleneck at Triq ta’ Wara s-Sur and plans to develop a new road, Triq Ġorġ Pisani, that would divert traffic away from Victoria’s centre.