The Civil Society Network will be writing to Parliament's Environment and Development committee to call for a debate on the development challenges in Malta between MPs and NGOs, experts and other civil society representatives.

The network said it endorsed the change.org petition which is calling for sustainable development.

"This requires the assessment of cumulative impacts of projects on both local and national level. We recognise that this requires proper debate, consultation and professional input, and therefore we believe that the proper forum for this should be the parliamentary committee," a statement released this morning said.

An increasing number of citizens are showing great concern with the acceleration of mega-development proposals and their impact on quality of life, and it seems quite clear that the Planning Authority is using antiquated methods that do not consider the cumulative impact of such development, it said. 

Independent MP Marlene Farrugia has called for a moratorium on large-scale development.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday that stopping major construction projects to avoid traffic and overcrowding was not an option.