Call for Għadira report to be published

Alternattiva Demokratika has called on the government to publish a report on the proposed Għadira road options which was drawn up by the Malta Transport Authority in 2005.

Transport Minister Austin Gatt had said there were no environmental studies carried out on the proposals but AD chairman Arnold Cassola says that he is in possession of the cover of a report prepared by EIA Environmental for the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) back in 2005.

"A report... was drawn up by the ADT in 2005, while a private report by a Mellieħa hotelier was also drawn up in 2004," Prof. Cassola said.

"We are asking Minister Gatt to publish these reports in their entirety and not to quote selectively from them. It is absolutely irresponsible of the government to have done nothing about the TEN-T project in Għadira for years and then to come up with a shotgun choice of deciding blindly on such a project within the space of six weeks, before the December 31, 2008 deadline," he insisted.

When contacted a spokesman for the Transport Ministry said he would need to know exactly what AD were talking about to comment further, but if the report was done in 2005 it could not relate to the current controversy since the new road was proposed this year.

This latest development in the controversy which surrounds the proposal to replace the existing road at Għadira Bay with one that cuts through neighbouring fields and a Natura 2000 site comes as BirdLife Malta made fresh claims about the impact of the proposal on the nature reserve they manage.

BirdLife claimed that removing the existing road could cause the beach to retreat and ruin the protected habitat behind it, including the Għadira nature reserve - the only such natural sanctuary in Malta.

The conservation group accused the government of "scaremongering" when it tried to prove the need for a new road by claiming that the beach would eventually disappear if the present road was not moved backwards. This was intended to distract people from the destruction of protected habitats that would result if the road were to be built, BirdLife insisted.

The organisation urged the Prime Minister, who is responsible for the environment, to intervene and ensure that the EU-protected area was safeguarded.

Similarly, AD said it would rather lose EU funds for the planned Għadira road than see the government forge ahead without the proper studies being carried out.

"We want to see scientific studies on this," AD chairman Arnold Cassola said.

The government's plan, to replace the road with another running alongside the back of the Danish Village complex and the Għadira nature reserve, touching the Foresta 2000 project site as part of the proposed EU Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T project), was revealed last month.

German Green MEP Michael Cramer insisted that the road could not be built and ruin protected areas.

Giving a press conference in front of St James Cavalier, last week, Mr Cramer, a specialist on transport issues, said building any new road had to abide by European legislation. He said Malta would not be able to tap EU funds if it did not abide by EU regulations. The Transport Ministry spokesman said the government required permits from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to build a road, and the law stipulated what studies had to be carried out: "Government has every intention and obligation to abide by the law."

The government has defended its decision to replace the existing road with the argument that this is having a negative effect on the beach, causing sand erosion. But it has also admitted that no studies have been carried out to determine the level of erosion. The government released aerial photos from 1957 to show that the beach had receded and compared them with the situation today. However, Prof. Cassola said sand levels fluctuated according to the seasons, and it had to be established when the photos were taken.