Myths, truths and roads

Almost a year on from the start of the largest road upgrade project this country has ever witnessed, the government's long-term strategy to bring the road network up to standard with the rest of Europe is starting to bear fruit.

A total of 5.4 kilometres of reconstructed roads were opened over the past fortnight. Another 11 kilometres of arterial and distributor roads will be opened gradually by September when the road works funded under the Fifth Italo-Maltese Protocol reach their term.

We are not only relying on foreign funding to bring the road network up to scratch. Continued funding under the national budget has made possible the opening of the Mosta ring road, the reconstruction of St George's Street in Spinola Bay and the construction of Mediterranean Street in Pembroke, in the past month or so. Not to mention the 150 odd residential and local roads constructed since January 2004.

The Labour Party, naturally, does not seem to be digesting these facts and figures well. Over the past three weeks it has been churning out a string of half-truths and myths in a bid to shun the government's clear drive to upgrade the road network.

The first fable the MLP would have us all believe is that the Fifth Italo-Maltese Protocol, which is funding the current reconstruction of 16 kilometres of roads, was negotiated by the Labour administration in the 1970s.

While that might be true for the first and second protocols with Italy, the same cannot be said for the more lucrative third, fourth and fifth agreements that were negotiated by the Nationalist administrations from 1987 onwards. Furthermore, the fifth protocol was the first to identify the road network upgrade as a priority area and allocate €30 million for that purpose.

Though the Fifth Italian Protocol Project is an important part in the government's programme to improve the road network, it remains a stepping stone between important initiatives taken by subsequent Nationalist administrations and the opportunities that EU funding will bring with it in the future.

The second myth Alfred Sant and his party are trying to pull off is that the government had to embark on a programme of such a large scale because the road infrastructure was left to decay for many years. Again, the facts are clear for all to see.

Major projects such as the construction of Sta Venera tunnels, Tal-Qroqq tunnels, the Mater Dei multi-level junction and the reconstruction of the Hal Far road, to name just a few, were instrumental in making the network capable of handling the ever-rising number of vehicles during the past 15 years or so.

Another myth is that the current road works are proceeding without any planning, coordination and strategy. The opposition enjoys bringing to mind the Bugibba project as the epitome of good planning.

A simple comparison would be in order. Bugibba (read one kilometre of main urban road and a few residential roads and pavements) is not equal to an Italian protocol project (read 16 kilometres of arterial roads along with several service roads and kilometres of common service ducts).

The two projects are also dissimilar in the logistics involved. The Bugibba project was rather straightforward in that it did not involve any shifting of services. The Italian protocol funded project, on the other hand, includes the shifting of all services and also the reconstruction of nine major traffic junctions.

The opposition's last myth is that no new technology is being applied to these roads.

I was pleased to note the press release issued by three environmental NGOs praising the government for having installed full cut-off road lighting along Mdina Road. The NGOs described the introduction of this kind of lighting as a "very positive first step" towards the reduction of light pollution in Malta.

Other innovations or new practices being applied in the construction of these roads include the use of imported aggregate resulting in a new (and more adherent) wearing course mix design, precast common service ducts, pre-modelled carriageway lighting and a comprehensive quality assurance programme.

As we enter the last few months of the Italian protocol-funded road network upgrade programme, we are about to commence works on six more projects that are being co-financed by the European Union.

First off will be the reconstruction of the Victoria to San Lawrenz road in Gozo and the stretch between Hal Far and Malta Freeport.

Reflecting on this unique volume of work I cannot not remember another fable - now more than two years old - that the Nationalist government would not be able to spend the funds coming from abroad within the time frames allocated. I thank all those who have risen to this challenge to prove this fable a false prophecy or, better still, a tale of sour grapes.

Mr Mugliett is Minister for Urban Development and Roads.