Works on various road projects around Malta resumed after a two-day halt this week, although the debris dumping issue that led to the standoff has yet to be resolved.

Transport Minister Ian Borg said that works on infrastructure projects related to roads had resumed on Wednesday, two days after contractors who were carrying out the works had downed tools, saying they had nowhere to dump construction waste.

Malta Developers Association director-general Deborah Schembri confirmed that contractors had resumed the works after the lobby met urgently with Prime Minister Robert Abela to resolve the issue. 

'We've been met with goodwill' - MDA

“Talks to resolve the issue are ongoing and another meeting is set to take place soon,” Schembri said. 

“However, as we’ve been met with goodwill and shown that there is serious interest in resolving the matter holistically, work on road projects will continue. We have no desire to cause a delay in works and the resolve to solve this issue looks promising.”

It is the second time in as many years that a waste dumping crisis has led to road works being stopped. 

In 2020, Infrastructure Malta had ordered a halt to all roadworks, claiming that dumping sites had reached capacity. But industry sources said the real reason behind the halting of works was because dumping costs had risen substantially.

Roadworks resumed after four days of negotiations led to a cap on the dumping cost of such waste, set at a maximum of €12 per tonne.

Concurrent road works needed due to years of neglect - Borg

Asked on Friday about an increase in traffic on the streets due to the 121 concurrent road projects currently being undertaken by Infrastructure Malta, Borg replied that road infrastructure had been neglected for some years and a lot of work had been required to bring it up to date. 

“We committed ourselves to an unprecedented seven-year program because there was a period of time where subsequent governments ignored these necessities and somewhat negligently allowed our country’s infrastructure to fall behind,” Borg said. 

“There is a lot of concurrent work because for a long time there was a lack of investment in the sector.”

He added that Infrastructure Malta was constantly working to coordinate concurrent works. 

“We cannot ignore the fact that people need to keep commuting, but on the other hand for every person that is encountering road works on their commute, there are several more who are waiting for works to begin on their street.”