Revised metro plans would cost €2.8 billion, Abela says

Revised plans for a metro presented to the government would cost €2.8 billion to implement, Prime Minister Robert Abela told Times of Malta on Wednesday.

While initial plans for a metro, dating back to 2021, placed the cost at more than €6 billion, Abela said the new plans involving different routes had more than halved the “massive” bill to build a metro system.

The new system would be a “hybrid” underground and overground system, Abela said, with parts of the network on unbuilt land.

Although technical studies related to the project are still underway, Abela said the €2.8 billion figure includes certain cost overruns.

However, Abela did not commit to a date on which a decision on the project would be taken, saying discussions are still ongoing.

Abela admitted that ARUP, the international firm commissioned to study the project’s feasibility, have yet to meet the finance minister to discuss the proposal’s costings.

On Tuesday, finance minister Clyde Caruana poured cold water over the prospects of a mass transport system in Malta, warning that the country would be “royally screwed” if plans went wrong.

Asked about Caruana’s statements, Abela said that the finance minister “had called for responsibility,” saying that this was a position he shared.

However, Abela added, “this country also needs to understand that Malta has to build the transport system of its future”.

“A finance minister, by nature, is expected to speak with caution, otherwise he wouldn’t be a responsible finance minister,” Abela said.

“I know the finance minister shares my same perspective, we never give up hope at the prospect of difficult projects,” he added.

“I believe that if we do things responsibly, this will be a project that defines the country,” Abela said.

The initial proposal, announced in October 2021, was for a three-line underground metro system with 25 stations around Malta.