The government’s recent ambitious initiative designed to revitalise village cores – dubbed ‘Vjal Kulħadd’ (Everyone’s Boulevard) – promises to make public spaces more pedestrian-friendly and sustainable but it seems the “everyone” in the title does not quite extend to Gozo.

Since Gozo’s roads fall directly under the Gozo ministry – as opposed to Infrastructure Malta – Gozo’s local councils are not able to apply for or benefit from the strongly-touted €10 million fund.

The information was tabled in parliament by Infrastructure Minister Chris Bonett last week in reply to a parliamentary question by Gozitan Nationalist MP Chris Said.

The exclusion of Gozo from the scheme has raised concerns among local councils on the sister island and critics argue the initiative should be inclusive of all Maltese citizens.

Launched by Infrastructure Malta two months ago, the fund aims to make local streets less car-centric and more people-friendly.

Local councils can apply for funding to implement various measures, including pedestrianisation, bike lane construction, traffic calming measures, landscaping, street lighting and introducing curves in previously straight roads to make them safer and more pleasant to walk and cycle in.

Will government expand its scope to include Gozo?

As the scheme progresses, it remains to be seen whether the government will consider expanding its scope to include Gozo or implement similar initiatives on the sister island, and the replies to questions from the Gozo and infrastructure ministries shed very little light on that.

“The Ministry for Gozo, which is responsible for infrastructural works in Gozo, fully supports initiatives and schemes aimed to improve community projects as well as assisting Gozitan local councils for the implementation of projects,” a spokesperson said.

The transport and infrastructure ministry said: “Vjal Kulħadd is a newly launched scheme which has proven to be highly popular among local councils and NGOs with over 30 submissions. Infrastructure Malta is not responsible for infrastructural works in Gozo but fully supports other ministries’ projects which promote sustainable mobility and give more open spaces to the community.”

This is not the first time that information about Gozo’s infrastructure projects remained somewhat vague.

Last month, the roads agency provided Times of Malta with a list of nearly 1,400 roads it claims to have repaired over the past six years. However, the list entirely overlooks Gozo, as the agency is not responsible for roads on the island.