Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono said yesterday that Spanish company Helisureste had made a proposal to the government on how the helicopter service between Malta and Gozo could be resumed.

She told Parliament yesterday that although the helicopter was no longer in Malta the company had told the government that it did not wish to permanently pull out and had left ground handling equipment in Gozo so that the service could be resumed.

Mrs Debono was replying to opposition questions during the budget debate after the service was discontinued last week and the helicopter left Malta.

The opposition spokesman for Gozo, Anton Refalo, asked if the government had had any prior notice that the service would be discontinued.

He noted that on Monday the government had said that plans for an extension of the Gozo helipad to turn it into an airstrip were in an advanced stage and they would soon be submitted to Mepa so that services using a 12-seat fixed wing aircraft could start early next year.

The existence of such plans at an "advanced stage" led one to believe that the government had known that the helicopter operator would pack up, Dr Refalo said. Once the plans were so advanced, had any environment impact assessment been made?

How long would the proposed airstrip actually be? If it was to be 1,200m long, as reported, would it be able to handle international flights?

Would just one airstrip be built, or two to enable aircraft to operate whatever the wind direction?

Could the minister guarantee that the airstrip would not be too close to residences, the waste transfer station, the sewage treatment plant and farms?

Dr Refalo said the EU had been prepared to allow a subsidy for the Gozo helicopter service, but now that the service had been discontinued, it was important that the government specified what its intentions were.

Justyne Caruana (MLP) asked how Communications Minister Censu Galea said in reply to a parliamentary question last week that the helicopter operators were still taking bookings. It was ironic that Malta was now spending Lm1 million on low cost airlines but no funds were found to subsidise the helicopter service. The absence of a helicopter service would mean isolation for Gozo when the ferries did not operate because of rough seas.

Karmenu Vella (MLP) said the termination of the helicopter service was detrimental for tourism in Gozo.

Replying, Mrs Debono said the government had always been in favour of an air link between Malta and Gozo. Under the present government the quality of the service had been raised. True, the fare was not low, but operating a helicopter was expensive.

The government was considering all possibilities and remained committed to ensuring that an air link was re-established, Mrs Debono said.

In his speech Dr Refalo repeatedly attacked the government for lacking credibility where Gozo was concerned.

For example, in July 2005 the Prime Minister described the Gozo helicopter service as a success and hit out at critics. Now that the service had been stopped, who had been right and who had been wrong?

Another example of government bluff was the boasting that the budget for Gozo was being raised. Year after year the funds for Gozo were never used up and were carried over. This year Dr Gonzi had made much of additional funding of Lm2.4 million, yet Lm2 million would be funds carried over after they were not used on the much delayed sewage treatment plant. Now that work on the plant had fallen back, did Malta risk losing the EU funds allocated for it?

Dr Refalo said the way the project for the rebuilding of the Victoria-San Lawrenz Road was being handled was scandalous. The people had been inconvenienced for months yet hardly any work was being done.

The Labour MP asked if the government had a socio-economic plan for Gozo. Would there be new incentives for manufacturing industry in Gozo? Could the minister guarantee that the cargo service from Sa Maison be retained?

What had become of the promised yacht marina and golf course? The government was now trying to use the proposed Hondoq ir-Rummien project as a reason why the yacht marina had not been built, but the two were different and the Hondoq ir-Rummien project was not in the interest of Gozitans.

Dr Refalo said nothing was being done to boost tourism in Gozo. Ferry fares remained high and the promised shuttle bus service between the airport and Cirkewwa and the commissioning of a small ferry for night services had also not materialised. Now the government had promised to reduce licence fees for tourism establishments during the winter. That was actually an idea included in the Labour plan for Gozo.

Yet another promise that had not been kept was the building of an industrial park for the small self-employed. It was also shameful that the modernisation of the slaughterhouse had fallen behind by years.

Dr Refalo said unemployment in Gozo was continuing to grow and only 58.8 per cent of the working population in Gozo was in employment compared to 80 per cent in Malta.

Justyne Caruana (MLP) said that other projects that had fallen behind included the decompression chamber and the Mgarr harbour terminal, including berthing facilities for cruise liners. She also criticised work on the Victoria-San Lawrenz road project, saying planning had clearly been inadequate, with parts of the road having been flooded at the first downpour.

She said the proposed Hondoq ir-Rummien development would be incompatible with the site and Labour would therefore respect the view of Qala residents who opposed the project in a referendum.

Dr Caruana said that under this government Gozo was not offering new job opportunities and many families were again suffering the heartbreak of seeing their young emigrate.

She welcomed plans for 30 Gozitans to be transferred to work in Gozo but said there were many other vacancies in government departments which could be filled in this way. Pregnant Gozitans should be given priority and transferred to Gozo early in their pregnancy. Dr Caruana said she was a bit jealous of the millions being spent on Mater Dei Hospital because in Gozo medical equipment was badly in need of modernisaton.

Karmenu Vella (MLP) said there was a lack of direction for the development of tourism in Gozo and the sector was heading for failure. He feared that the measures which had been announced in the budget were too little too late. This was a sector which was essential for Gozo's service-based economy and needed to be taken more seriously.

Gozo needed to be marketed better and the Gozo Tourism Association needed to be strengthened.

Nationalist MP Frederick Azzopardi observed that despite opposition criticism, it was only under the Labour government that funding for Gozo was reduced. And current unemployment levels were not any higher than they were in the Labour years.

Under the present government Gozo was enjoying 10 per cent of EU funds allocated to Malta as well as increased funding from the central government. Much of this funding would go on new roads, a new Lm3 million educational complex, a new operating theatre and radiology department, a sewage treatment plant, refurbishment of Villa Rundle Gardens, redevelopment of Iz -Zewwieqa and the building of a visitors' centre at Ggantija.

Mr Azzopardi backed plans to promote Gozo as a destination for back office services, saying the island was ideally suited for such activities in view of its trained workers and the way how information technology removed the disadvantages of Gozo being an island.

Mrs Debono said the current rate of development in Gozo was unparallelled, showing how the millions allocated for the island were being utilised wisely. Capital expenditure in Gozo next year would be 10 times bigger than the Lm1.12 million allocated by Labour in 1997.

The minister said all funds allocated by the EU would be used and none would be lost, including the funds for the sewage treatment plant, which would be completed next year.

Mrs Debono said job creation remained a problem and had the government not invested strongly the situation would have been worse. As it were, many of those who had lost their jobs had been absorbed in new jobs. Gozo was seeing a shift in the Labour market, which necessitated new worker skills and a new infrastructure.

The government had allocated Lm600,000 on a range of training courses focusing on tourism, business, agriculture and crafts and response had been very encouraging. Over Lm825,000 had also been allocated to assist small businesses and encourage investment and employment.

Mrs Debono said that despite opposition criticism, there were positives in the Gozo tourism industry. Although some hotels had closed, over the past 10 years bed capacity had actually increased by 188 and the number of tourists who came to Gozo as their primary destination rose by 15 per cent in two years. During the same period the number of beds in self-catering establishments doubled to 2,693.

Still, efforts to improve the product were continuing. Work on the training hotel in Qala would be completed by March; the masterplan on the diving industry was being completed, the decompression chamber was being installed and two ships had been scuttled to be used as artificial reefs.

The Archaeology Museum had been refurbished; facilities at Dwejra had been improved, the Maritime Authority was investing on berthing facilities for cruise liners in Gozo while Heritage Malta was building a visitors' centre in Ggantija. Mrs Debono said licence fees for tourism operators had been cut by a quarter because of the seasonality problems of Gozo. There would be VAT exemptions on cultural activities for the same reason.

The minister said that while the opposition had spoken about the helicopter service, no one had said anything about how the ferry service had been substantially improved over the years. Although fares had been raised, advantageous tariffs had been introduced for frequent users and for different times of the year.

Mrs Debono acknowledged the delays in the upgrading of the slaughterhouse in Gozo, saying they were caused by problems in tendering for equipment since bidders had not complied with conditions. So a fresh international call for tenders under EU rules would have to be issued.

Mrs Debono said she was surprised by Dr Refalo's comments on the building of the road to San Lawrenz. This was a major project, but work was going well, even if costs were higher than expected. The road to Ta' Pinu would also be taken in hand. Plans for the rebuilding of the road to Xlendi had been pushed back by some months and had not started immediately after the summer. A tender for the rebuilding of sections of the road to Ramla had been issued. The road to Mgarr was also being rebuilt and studies were being drawn up on a new bypass from Mgarr to Ghajnsielem.

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