Labour MP highlights future Valletta access problems

Opposition spokesman on the infrastructure Charles Buhagiar yesterday highlighted the consequences of demolishing City Gate in Valletta without Transport Malta having devised a plan for motorists to access the capital.

Mr Buhagiar, who was speaking in Parliament, said that with the demolishing of the city gate, which was due in next March, a principal road that gave access to Valletta would be closed. Since Transport Malta had not yet devised an access plan, motorists would have to enter Valletta either through Castille or through St Mark Street, which was very narrow.

Motorists should be told how to enter Valletta before the city gate was demolished.

If one really believed in improving access to Valletta, one should consider alternative methods of transport. Minister Austin Gatt had promised that the Upper Barrakka lift would be finalised by the beginning of next year. However, this project had not even started.

Water taxis were also needed at least in the Grand Harbour areas. The government should be serious and implement what it had promised within the specified timeframe.

Regarding the CVA, he said that the opposition had agreed with this idea since the Park and Ride was free of charge.

While Minister Gatt had shunned the idea that the Park and Ride scheme would be against payment, a fee would now be introduced when the new bus operator Arriva would start functioning. Mr Buhagiar said that the minister knew what was being agreed with Arriva.

This would create several problems because people who worked at Valletta would have to pay around €10 weekly.

While the CVA was against payment, the original idea was that from its income, it would be able to finance the park and ride and for the loss of V-plates. However, the government was losing money through the CVA.

Mr Buhagiar said that 85 per cent of the CVA’s income was allocated to the company operating it. With 12,000 CVA-exempt vehicles and 1,800 parking slots at Valletta, the system did not work since income was low.

Facing difficulty when trying to enter Valletta, people were discouraged from going to the capital. Certain companies had taken their operations elsewhere and even shopkeepers were discouraged to remain in Valletta due to a turndown of business.

Mr Buhagiar said that while shelters were built for horse cabs in 1998, the present government removed them once elected. Minister Gatt said that that operators should build shelters themselves. This was not the way one treated animals.

Nothing was mentioned in the Budget on how it would finance the Grand Harbour Regeneration Project. It was argued that this project would be financed through rent collected by the government not to place burden on the consolidated fund. However, the government was directly providing funds.

The Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation was issuing several contracts, such as consultancy, including Renzo Piano, while its funds were not yet established.

Accessibility problems also existed at Cottonera. Vittoriosa had discovered its potential, however, this had created parking problems. While, promising a car park for several years, the government had done nothing.

It was commendable to encourage people to use public transport, but there were instances where they needed to use their own transport. A former Prime Minister had boasted of the number of cars sold to show people’s affluence. But this had landed Malta in a big traffic jam.

While there were ideas of having two more car park and ride centres in Luxol and Marsa, another one should be planned for the Cottonera.

The private sector took initiatives to operate water taxis in the Cottonera and this should be encouraged because this reduced parking problems.

The construction sector, Mr Buhagiar said was facing several problems. National statistics showed that employment in the sector fell by 10 per cent, salaries fell by 4.8 per cent ands working hours fell by 12.6 per cent.

Mr Buhagiar said that there was no measure addressing this situation in the Budget. One should see how to improve this sector, not how to place more burden on it.