Valletta cable car system possible by 2005

A cable car system between Floriana and Valletta could be up and running within 12 months from the issue of permits, which could happen by the end of the year, according to top officials of the cruise liner terminal consortium Viset.

The cable car, proposed by Viset, will run the 2.5 km stretch between the proposed park-and-ride point in Floriana, the cruise liner terminal at Pinto Wharf and the Upper Barrakka.

The project will soon be discussed in parliament but Transport Minister Jesmond Mugliett said the government was looking favourably on it because it would facilitate transport within the city.

Chris Falzon, Viset's chief executive, said the six-minute ride would be to Valletta "what the tube is to London". The cable car transport system will cost Lm3 million to build.

Mr Mugliett and Mr Falzon, accompanied by Viset chairman Joe Grioli, were yesterday speaking at the opening of a new trunk road at the Pinto Marina, in Valletta.

Work on the 470-metre-long road, which cost Lm350,000, had started last October as part of the Valletta waterfront regeneration project.

The new road replaces the previous Pinto marina road, paving the way for the old seafront road to be transformed into a pedestrian waterfront.

The new road includes a services tunnel along Pinto for the distribution of utilities into the nearby buildings.

"Despite the fact that its development entailed the rerouting of most of the utilities supplying Valletta, the actual construction took just seven months and was carried out with minimal impact to the traffic flowing through the area," Mr Mugliett said.

Mr Grioli said this year was one of rapid progress for Viset in its efforts to develop a new destination that will include shops, cafés, restaurants, new entertainment facilities as well as deliver a world class cruise liner terminal of which Malta can be proud.

Apart from the completion of the trunk road and a new lagoon, the consortium will also complete the structural works on the premises of the Malta Maritime Authority later this year.

As Viset focuses its efforts on the completion of the Lm10 million terminal, the National Statistics Office released gloomy figures on the number of cruise liner visitors, which has dropped 62 per cent in the first quarter from the same period last year.

When asked about this, Mr Falzon said he was not disheartened by the statistics especially since the peak season for cruise liners started around April and May.

"We are registering a decrease in bookings but our figures point to a reduction of about 10-15 per cent over last year," he said.

Mr Falzon said Viset was of course taking all reductions in bookings very seriously and was working to turn the situation around and attract new business to the port.

Among the plans in line to offset the situation is to transform Malta into a home port, which would also have good spin-offs for the entire economy.

"However, we need everybody's cooperation for this entire project to be a success," he said.