The Gozo Ministry is still considering at least one alternative to the recently-published design for the proposed Marsalforn breakwater, a spokesman has said.
The ministry released designs earlier this month for two new breakwaters all but enclosing the mouth of the bay, with a 200-metre-long arm at Santa Maria point and another 170-metre-long protrusion from Għar Qawqla.
It also issued calls for two tenders for studies relating to the project, one for an environmental impact assessment and one for geotechnical investigations.
The first tender refers to plans corresponding to the published designs but the second is about a different plan for two much smaller breakwater arms: 150 metres long at Santa Maria point and 100 metres at Il-Menqa, with a much wider gap between them. This plan is also dated earlier than the published designs, August instead of October 2018.
The second tender, which refers to the smaller breakwater arms, was pulled from the government e-Tenders website days after it was issued and remained unavailable at the time of writing.
Nevertheless, a Gozo Ministry spokesman confirmed the different options were still under consideration and that it was the studies that would guide the final decision.
He could not explain why the second tender was no longer available, saying this was a technical problem outside the ministry’s remit. Nor could he say why the two tenders referred to different plans, suggesting that different studies were being commissioned for different proposals.
As recently as Monday, Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana said in response to a parliamentary question that the two tenders had been published on the government website and that the process was open.
The published designs, featuring the longer breakwater arms, have provoked a mixed public reaction, with residents and business owners expressing concerns over whether seawater circulation will be hindered by the narrow opening to the sea.
Fears were also raised that the project could lay the groundwork for part of the bay to be converted into a private yacht marina.
Plans for coastal defences at Marsalforn have been mooted since the destruction of an old breakwater dating back to the 1960s. The bay is plagued by strong waves during stormy weather, flooding the promenade and the bars and restaurants that line it.
The new proposal supersedes 2011 plans by the last Nationalist administration, which incorporated the construction of a submerged breakwater, beach nourishment and the building of a seawall.
The ministry’s plans also include an upgrade of the promenade, an extension of the sandy beach and the rebuilding of the road from Victoria to Marsalforn.