Roadworks on the main thoroughfare at the Msida seafront have finally been completed, nine months behind schedule.

Infrastructure Malta told Times of Malta that the road had been completed on Tuesday morning.

Works on Ix-Xatt Ta’ Xbiex kicked off in July 2022 and were meant to be completed in April last year. However, for 18 months motorists have had to navigate potholes and uneven surfaces on the 400-metre stretch.

The final phase of the work was conducted at night, reducing the inconvenience for motorists who use the busy road to get from Sliema to the south of the island.

The Msida project has been beset by delays and its original contractor had his permit revoked after he failed to follow professional practices.

Missed deadlines

Initially, the Water Services Corporation – which originally managed the €930,000 project – said the project would be completed by April, yet, the road remained reduced to one lane months after that deadline.

An updated deadline of September 2 was also missed and blamed on “unexpected rain”.

Days after Times of Malta reported the missed deadline, WSC and Transport Malta revoked the permit of the contractor carrying out the works. He was forced to stop all work and was also fined.

The delays brought businesses to their knees, with Times of Malta reporting in December that restaurant owners were struggling with losses resulting from the protracted roadworks on Msida’s seafront.

According to various restaurant owners along the beleaguered strip of road, numbers were down by 15 per cent and losses were amounting to €300 a day.

The roads agency told Times of Malta on Wednesday that the road was completed within the promised new deadline - the second week of January - despite 17 days of bad weather or pauses due to the festivities.

Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday evening, Transport Minister Chris Bonett said that while the Msida roadworks were completed, work on the network upgrade in St Andrew's was going as planned.

90 per cent of the work had been completed and the entire project was expected to be ready by March.