Work on a tunnel linking Malta and Gozo should start before the end of this legislature, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told an audience in Marsalforn on Saturday.
"This project will not be kept up in the air. I am convinced it will happen," he said.
Geologists are currently studying rock samples taken during undersea core drilling as part of a feasibility study for the project. Earlier this year, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg indicated that the preferred route being assessed would see the tunnel run from Manikata in Malta to Nadur in Gozo.
"I'm convinced that once the studies are successfully completed, as it appears they will be, we'll be able to start works on the tunnel this legislature," the Prime Minister said.
Dr Muscat said that he was determined to see the tunnel project through, but that there were a number of other projects – from a fast ferry service between the two islands to replacing Gozo Channel’s aging fleet of ferries – that needed to get underway while the tunnel project progressed.
He said that the "unprecedented" rise in tourist numbers was putting a lot of pressure on local infrastructure, with longer queues for ferries at Mġarr and Ċirkewwa and plans to enter into talks with Malta Public Transport to bolster bus services.
"But these are good problems to have," he said.
The Prime Minister was speaking during a staged interview which was broadcast live on the Labour Party's Facebook page.
He thanked his Gozitan audience for having shown faith in him and his government, and expressed confidence that the island would continue to return a Labour majority in future elections.
Electricity tariffs
Dr Muscat also touched upon an ongoing controversy concerning the manner in which ARMS Ltd. is billing consumers for electricity and water.
He acknowledged that “certain” consumers may have experienced an “anomaly” in their bills and said that the government would sort the problem out.
"We are carrying out a review and will reach a solution," he said.
Photo: PLThe Prime Minister couched that admission in a reminder that the Labour
government had cut tariffs upon entering government, and that nobody could deny that electricity bills were now cheaper than under the previous administration.
“With problems in Iran and oil prices rising, had it been for the other lot tariffs would have risen over the past months,” he said. “But I pledge that as long as we are in government, electricity tariffs will remain low.”
Barts campus
Dr Muscat said that work on the Barts medical school campus planned for Gozo was proceeding at a fast pace.
The campus is years behind schedule, having originally been slated for completion in September 2016.
Nevertheless, the Prime Minister said that once it was up and running Gozo would be "brimming with work".
Bonds for older investors
Dr Muscat also used the interview to reveal that the government would once again be issuing bonds offering a 3 per cent interest rate to people approaching a pensionable age.
The bonds, which are expected to open to applications on Monday, will be available to people aged 62 and over. Purchases will be capped at 8,000.
“We could borrow money for cheaper elsewhere, but we are offering these bonds because of our social conscience,” Dr Muscat said.