Thousands of liri 'squandered' on park and ride

The government's arrogance and incompetence could be seen in the "useless" park and ride project where thousands of liri had been spent, Labour leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.

The park and ride scheme, intended to reduce the amount of traffic entering Valletta, is planned to include a 950-space car park at Belt il-Hazna, in Blata l-Bajda, and a frequent shuttle service to and from the capital city.

But the tender for the operation of the scheme, which should have been up and running by May 1, is still in arbitration following two objections presented to the Transport Authority.

Addressing a news conference, Dr Sant said that in spite of the money spent, the project had not been carried out and the Nationalist government was now finding all kinds of excuses for it to be shelved.

The Labour leader said the government was squandering the money that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority made from the commuted parking payment scheme, through which common parking had to be provided using money developers had paid where they could not provide parking spaces.

The roundabout embellishment project at Blata l-Bajda, carried out a few years ago at a cost of Lm270,000, had been destroyed, Dr Sant said. Valletta and Floriana residents and businesses, as well as commuters, were all against the project, claimed Dr Sant.

Reacting to these statements, the government said that it is still committed to complete the project which gives the lie to Dr Sant's claims, it added.

Through a Department of Information press release, the government said that the third phase of this scheme involves the adjudication of the tenders for the operation of the Park and Ride facility by the Contracts Committee. This is now in its 15-day period when objections can be filed, which period ends on Tuesday.