Sliema-Buġibba-Gozo ferry likely this spring: Chris Bonett
Transport minister hopes the new service will lead to a reduction in car trips
The ferry linking Sliema and Buġibba with Gozo could begin operating by mid-spring, Transport Minister Chris Bonett said.
The ferry had originally been slated to begin operations last August. However, a challenge to the tendering procedure caused delays.
Bonett said last month the objections to the tender for the service had been dropped by a rival operator.
Asked for an update on proceedings, he said: “The tender has continued from where it was suspended. It has now closed, and the process of evaluating the offers submitted is ongoing”.
The minister noted that once the tender is awarded, there will be a 10-day appeals period. Should no one appeal, the successful bidder will have 21 days to deliver the service.
“If everything goes well, the service will begin in April or May,” he said.
Bonett’s plan to launch a new fast ferry service between Sliema, Buġibba and Gozo last summer ran aground after a ferry company complained that the tender’s deadlines and conditions went against EU rules.
Like anything new, a period of time is needed for people to use it. I am not expecting the service to be full in its first month- Chris Bonett
Supreme Travel Ltd, better known as Ta’ Ċanċu, argued that the tender’s tight submission deadline, restrictive selection and technical criteria, and the rapid implementation timeframe were designed to unfairly favour existing subsidised fast ferry operators.
It lodged a legal challenge with the Public Contracts Review Board (PCRB), which was resolved earlier this year.
That complaint, however, caused delays in the plan to launch the service, which would see a direct link between Gozo and two of Malta’s busiest commercial and touristic areas.
Bonett is hoping the new service would lead to a reduction in car trips.
“Wherever we have introduced ferry services – be it the Gozo-Valletta fast ferry or the port ferries – people have used them. Of course, like anything new, a period of time is needed for people to use it. I am not expecting the service to be full in its first month,” he said.
Like the Valletta-Gozo fast ferry, which took some time to gain users, “I have no doubt that the service will eventually be a success,” the minister remarked.
Besides the Sliema-Buġibba-Gozo ferry, the government is also planning a new Marsascala-to-Valletta ferry service.