Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar has appealed a planning permit greenlighting the widening of Marsalforn Road.
The NGO said in a statement on Tuesday that since the fishing village has been destroyed by over-development, the road is the only untouched part of Marsalforn.
The Planning Authority last month issued a permit for major road works linking Victoria to Marsalforn which will involve the destruction of ODZ land, the disturbance of a watercourse, as well as the uprooting of over three hundred trees, according to NGOs.
On Tuesday FAA insisted that the project was not required since the road was rarely congested.
It claimed that Transport Malta had presented misleading traffic counts, admitting that they were taken at the height of the Santa Marija holiday - the only time when there is heavy traffic on this road.
This project, taking up 10,693 square metres of agricultural land runs counter to the Gozo and Comino Local Plan which designated much of the land on either side of the road as ‘Land of Agricultural Value’, FAA said.
The NGO added that the project violated the SPED stipulation that Gozo “shall become an ecological island”.
"This project will also destroy 300 trees and shrubs, 44 of which are protected, impact flora and fauna, and destroy a waterway, dikes, water reservoirs and a cultural landscape – just to widen what is essentially a village road which only sees significant but manageable traffic for three months in a year.
"TM claimed that the road needs to be straightened to reduce accidents, yet straightening and widening this road will encourage drivers to speed, thereby risking more accidents and increasing danger to cyclists," it said.
FAA suggested resurfacing the road instead, while carrying out "limited, localised upgrades".
"The Gozo Ministry’s claim that this is part of the EU Ten-T programme is again misleading nonsense, as that EU programme is intended to facilitate import and export transport. Marsalforn is far from being an industrial or commercial hub.
"The fact that the Gozo Ministry awarded the €9 million road construction tender to a consortium of Gozitan businessmen before the permit was granted, confirms perceptions that the real purpose of this project is to use taxpayer funds to boost contractors’ revenues and provide parking facilities for certain commercial establishments located on this road," FAA added.
Moreover, FAA maintains that the waiver of the EIA is illegitimate, and runs counter to the EU EIA Directive.
Readers can support FAA’s Marsalforn appeal fund here.