The Nationalist Party has rejected the accusation that it has performed a U-turn over the Malta-Gozo tunnel.

Clarifying its position after it was attacked by the Gozo Business Chamber, the PN said it wanted a permanent link between the two islands to be included in a holistic master plan for Gozo and enshrined in a law that would require a two-thirds majority in parliament or a referendum to change.

“The PN has not changed its position. The issue of accessibility between Malta and Gozo is closely linked to the competitiveness and sustainability of Gozo,” a spokesperson told Times of Malta.

“The PN has already stated that it will evaluate this project constructively only after all the relevant studies, including a detailed and holistic master plan pertaining to Gozo, is carried out, followed by a wide consultation process, which may include a referendum.”

He added that no tunnel project should start between the islands until a detailed master plan has been drawn up on development in Gozo, including aspects like quality, environment and aesthetics.

If necessary, this plan would be passed as law that cannot be changed except by a two-thirds vote and, if necessary, by a referendum among Gozitans.

He was replying to questions after PN leader Bernard Grech said during a political speech in Gozo last Sunday that the tunnel project would be taken to the Gozitans for their final say on the project.

The referendum had also been mentioned as a possibility by former prime minister Joseph Muscat in 2014.

The idea of a referendum has, however, been strongly opposed by the Gozo Business Chamber.

In reaction to Grech’s speech, it said MPs from both parties had unanimously agreed to support the tunnel project back in April 2019 and extensive work and studies had been undertaken since then.

The time for referenda had passed and it was now technical studies that would determine the project’s feasibility, the chamber said.

“This is an important long-term project which envisages multiple legislatures. Within this context, the motion that had been approved in parliament led to agreement on both sides of the House on the strategic direction to be adopted on this project.

“Tinkering with such an important long-term project, which has multiple benefits for Gozitan society and its economy, is not acceptable. This would take back to the drawing board an important project which has been in the pipeline for many years,” it argued.

The PN spokesperson said the party had always said it wanted experts’ views about the feasibility of the project and its cost to build, maintain and run it.

“We need to weigh how much we will really gain and how much we will lose from such a project, whether there are alternatives for a link between Malta and Gozo, which would be as effective and feasible as the tunnel but which would potentially have less of a negative impact.”

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