Gozo's parish priests back study on tunnel proposal

Peter Korsten

Feb 12th 2011, 18:41

On Thursday, we hopped over to Gozo - and we weren't the only ones, so he had to wait for quite a while. A fixed connection is a good idea, but why on earth a tunnel? In the mountains, they prefer not to dig a tunnel because of the cost involved, and an undersea tunnel is even more difficult (=expensive). If the Millau Viaduct in France, a bridge spanning 2460 metres cost €400m - six years ago - how on earth could an undersea tunnel be built for a mere €150m? Why not a causeway, like so many other countries in the world have opted for? Why waste taxpayers' money on a survey? The national debt is still going up.

Anthony Grech

Feb 11th 2011, 16:12

Now, now. What the church have to do with this.Do they have to tell the people and the goverment what to do? Many people do not like what they want to do,either by building a tunnel or a bridge. If all the people in Malta and Gozo agree with the goverment,then let it be.

Steve Zammit

Feb 11th 2011, 11:14

Re: ''Gozo could develop faster and contribute to the development of the nation.''

Yes of course, Gozo will then become another Malta and the two islands will become completely identical. Building a tunnel, will give the opportunity for greedy developers to destroy your island...have any doubts? Look at Malta now and thebitter state we are in...:(

Yes, by all means, improve the Gozo ferry but please do not let progress destroy your beautiful island!So many Maltese like me visit year in year out Gozo, to enjoy the beautiful countryside and peace that you have.

Charles Sammut

Feb 11th 2011, 10:43

This is just yet another titbit to distract people from their real problems. Gozitans and the government cannot even decide on an extension of a couple of hundred metres to the airstrip, never mind a 10km undersea tunnel. The latter would require the destruction of a large area of land to build the ramps at the mouth of the tunnel which would have the greenies up in arms defending some two headed tail-less endemic lizard.

However, as we say, 'bil-flus taghmel triq fil-bahar' and as long as those flus do not come from my pocket, they can build their tunnel and line it with unicorn horn ivory tiles as far as I am concerned. And the parish priests can take it in turns blessing sections of it with holy water transported from the River Jordan on the backs of swift dromedaries. Zzzzzzz.......

A Grech

Feb 11th 2011, 09:57

1) I understand that it is not straight forward for Gozitan residents to work in Malta, however, the detachment itself from Malta it what gives Gozo its character and the reason why myself and presumably other people go there tourism wise.

2) Looking at the local inability of building roads successfully above ground, I'd be a bit weary of crossing an underwater tunnel that is battered constantly by heavy trucks and machinery (since the tunnel is partly aimed at businesses to transport their goods)

3) I would assume Malta has very little, to no experience on underwater tunneling (as a labor-force), this starts to sound a lot like the typical project estimated at 150m and then escalates to triple the amount.

4) An estimate of the price for crossing should be mentioned so citizens can compare it with the the time spent waiting for the ferry and do their own math before saying "this is great go for it". I am assuming whoever funds this project would need to break even somehow in a short amount of time, and also cover the running & maintenance costs which will be very high considering the safety issues involved.

Joseph Aquilina

Feb 11th 2011, 09:54

This is for the parish priests to read;
http://www.newsweek.com/2008/04/16/the-green-pope.html

I thought that the people followed much more then me (a simple Christian) what the Pope has to say on the subject of environment and could do the addition and subtraction of what this project means to the environment.

Joseph Camilleri

Feb 11th 2011, 09:52

Gozo Church, just stick to your mission of keeping the people in the right track and stop interfering in State affairs. People with the slightest bit id sense in their gray mater will not fall for this election gimmick.

TONY FAVA

Feb 11th 2011, 09:51

X'ghanda x'taqsam il-Knisja mal-progetti. Din gdida. Jew sabiex jghinu naqra lill-Chris ta' GonziPN a skapitu ta' Frederick u Giovanna. It would make more sense if the Church pays more attention to put its house in order than meddle in the State's affairs. Or are we reeling back to the sixties when the Church had the cheek to intervene on how the people voted and then buried the infidels in the mizbla.

David Gatt

Feb 11th 2011, 09:50

Oh I guess it's alright then ... the Government has the backing of the Church authorities. Isn't that lovely?

E.Dimech

Feb 11th 2011, 09:46

Jista xi student Ghawdxi u haddiem Ghawdxi jghidilna kif se jivvjaggaw jekk issir tunnel? Biex taqsam kuljum bil-karozza tigi expensive ghal haddiem u student ma jiflahiex zgur. Allura taqsam it- tunnel bil- bus? F'dan il- kaz irid isir parkegg kbir fejn ihallu l- karozzi il- mijiet ta''Ghawdxin gewwa Ghawdex qrib it- tunnel ghax Ghawdex kulhadd bil- karozza. U trid taqbad bus jew minibus ohra minn Malta ghal post tax- xoghol. U viciversa. Fil- maltemp vera problema, imma l- bqija kemm tiffranka hin fil- fatt?

Joseph Aquilina

Feb 11th 2011, 09:44

So the current Pope has been called the “Green Pope” due to all his environment friendly initiatives, and then you have those that should represent his authority in Malta agree with a proposal that will in fact increase the amount of traffic on both islands. As it is – without a tunnel – most Gozitans use public transport when they come to Malta. A tunnel will only incline such Gozitans to start using their cars even when coming to Malta – therefore more traffic everywhere which in turn means more pollution. Therefore with this line of thought the parish priests (including Mgr Mario Grech) are going against what the Pope truly believes in; a better environment for everyone … and all in the name of money … sorry I meant business on the island of Gozo.

joe galea

Feb 11th 2011, 09:42

Don't these priests have anything better to do??! This tunnel affair is such a waste of time and harming us all from discussing the real issues of everyday life. If a Gozitan does not like the tunnel he/she should simply move to Malta. Thousands of Gozitans have done this already over the years and they are happily living with their respective families in Malta. Gozitans should shed away their 'islanders' mentality not by asking for a bridge but to stop with all this waning and moaning. Wake up and seize the opportunities that an island brings with it. Bring back Gozo as the once "showcase of Malta" and make of it a cutting-edge R&D eco-island destination of the future. An island being carbon neutral of fuel emissions, for example. Hundreds, thousands, of people can be employed in Gozo with the the right legislative and financial framework. There are millions of EU Funds and investment interest by multinational corporations in this sector of business. The Government needs to give meat to its Eco-Gozo brand by setting up a serious visionary task-force to propose and implement such a vision. Gozitans WAKE UP!

F J Brincat

Feb 11th 2011, 09:39

I am against the Church sticking its nose in government affairs. However, I think the Church is viewing the tunnel project from a social point of view (ie the social impact). However, when it comes to this project, I can hear a big White elephant trumpeting.

Bernard Storace

Feb 11th 2011, 09:18

'Gozo could develop faster...' what nonsense. Certain people cannot see further than beyond the ends of their noses. More developement means more destruction, excess building, and damage to the ECO system and more. The Gozitans still do not realise how lucky they are that the Maltese flock at the drop of a hat; rent farmhouses, apartments and houses; frequent the restaurants; buy up anything Arkadia has on offer and more. The quaint and very historical villages will disappear and it will no longer be worth the while of the Maltese or tourists to make the ferry crossing...why should they when the Gozitan charm and exclusivity has disappeared through over developement similar to Malta. It remains the Government's responsibility to increase the number of ferries, build the Cirkewwa terminal and improve the road infrastructure on the Malta side. Get rid of all the bottlenecks; organise special crossing days and time of day for heavy vehicles, lorries, dangerous cargo, refuse trucks, chickens etc. Once all of the above is running smoothly then crossings will become more frequent and very acceptable. Do you want Gozo to become another Sliema, Bugibba at all costs? By the way I LIVE IN GOZO and commute too

j muscat

Feb 11th 2011, 09:15

The rumour is..............." moses long stick structures company " are the first to show interest
in the malta gozo link.

r ferriggi

Feb 11th 2011, 09:08

i have nothing against the local church. honestly. but i REALLY cannot understand how and why the church involves itself in this fantasy tnnel business. doesnt it have its own problems and issues to address?? and regarding the tunnel dream,,, how can we talk about mega-money tunnel projects when we cannot even START ( not finish...) the cirkewwa terminal?? not to mention the road from mellieha to crkewwa and armier which are a shambles. totally unacceptable.

Adriano Spiteri

Feb 11th 2011, 08:44

Whether the Church agrees or disagrees with a National project is not important to neither me nor to the State.

joe borg

Feb 11th 2011, 02:43

What's naturally possible is not done,the fact remain that d people of gozo want everything for free, apart this is yet another bogus propal to filter tax payers money....why doesn't d church backs d sensible idea of transition existing disused heliport into an airstrip? Again most gozatians
Badly to need to change their isolated mentality, at d expense of malta

Raymond Sammut

Feb 10th 2011, 22:12

This would be wasteful infrastructure. Not many would need to cross, for there would be nothing left in Gozo which one cannot find on Malta. The Malta Church, if it wants to express an opinion on this issue, needs to provide at least one decent benefit of "developing" Gozo.

People around the world use all kind of transportation, and spend hours travelling every day. People expressing the view that Gozitans need a "tunnel" so they can travel across some 5km of deep water is a sign of people who have no sense of the economic use of resources.

If the Malta Church is thinking along the lines of increasing the number of people joining the Gozo diocese, then the Maltese clergy shouldn't think "tunnelling". They would agree that spiritual thoughts, rather than building tunnels of steel and concrete, would be more in line with the Gospel, if it's the Gospel that they really want to preach.

To all Gozitans who need to travel on a daily basis: make the government ensure that the ferry service continues to improve. It's also much to their interest to keep Gozo out of bounds to developers, greed and decadence.

J Zahra

Feb 10th 2011, 21:58

what does the church have to do with it?

Antoine Sant

Feb 10th 2011, 21:40

What have Gozo's parish priests got to do with the proposed tunnel? If they want to go outside their religious remit, Bishop Grech and his church should occupy themselves with concentrating on other issues, like the blatant overcharging by their fellow Gozitans, particularly where Maltese visitors and tourists are concerned.

marcus vella bardon

Feb 10th 2011, 21:13

All we need is a tunnel to gozo ,what for ? also where do the gozo parish priest's come into backing anything , is the church gonna pay for such a study ,or project ?

john muscat

Feb 10th 2011, 20:40

Bridge or tunnel, It will get the grey metal boxes to malta quicker i suppose, when the time comes !! . I wonder how long it is going to take for all the several huge boxes full off the study documentation is going to take to cross from malta to gozo. I suggest that the huge cocrete monstrosity at imgarr harbour will be made to good use to act as abutment to the bridge at the gozo end. If we go for the tunnel ,it would be wise to solve the santa venera tunnels leaking problem before the design stage of the "Alice" project. A line of wind rotar electricity producing monsters will match nicely with te ones propsed for the "sikka il bajda". In the meantime , I invite the clergy of malta and gozo to pray for illumination for us common mortals to help us understand our more brain gifted country high ups. May the Lord help us all.

Tonio Bone

Feb 10th 2011, 20:02

First a bridge, now a tunnel. Both have their pros and cons. Gozo will probably benefit financially but I feel it might loose it's lovely and unique identity,
The study says the costs would be in the 150 million region. With the way local projects have always almost doubled in cost on completion I don't see this one being an exception so the question is: can we afford to spend 300 million on a Malta/Gozo tunnel? Will the cost be sustainable? Will this be funded publicly?

Karl Consiglio

Feb 10th 2011, 19:46

X'ghandu x'jaqsmu il-parish priests? Whats next? "Gozo bakers and plumbers back study on tunnel proposal"?

Chris Grillo

Feb 10th 2011, 19:37

Despite being a practicing christian, I cannot imagine, for the life of me, what the heck do the parish priests of Gozo need intervening in this issue for?

What are we resorting to? Do we have to go on the words of priests now?

Social life has to be separate from religious beliefs... oh right.... for the shrines we will see popping up all over the tunnels!

Joseph Sammut

Feb 10th 2011, 19:35

this madness is taking on a spiritual tint!!!!!

Franco Farrugia

Feb 10th 2011, 19:32

I find it despicable - yes, that's the term - for Gozo's parish priests to be in favour of the development - read, rape! - of the island! Well, what does one expect from a diocese that finds nothing wrong with the building of a cemetery in once-fertile and arable land?

Patrick Pace

Feb 10th 2011, 19:29

Jien izjed nahseb li din tal-mina hi tatika biex kumpaniji barranin ma jikkompetux mal-Gozo Channel habba liberizzazzjoni u jaqtghu qalbhom.

N Borg

Feb 10th 2011, 19:22

I wonder what a 'religious club' has got to do with the permanent link between Malta and Gozo?

Why does The Times publish such useless news anyway?

P.Cefai

Feb 10th 2011, 19:20

Dream on father....lol

Robert Galea

Feb 10th 2011, 19:16

Consulting priests on roadworks and infrastructure. This is why Malta is lagging so far behind.

K Grech

Feb 10th 2011, 19:15

Its nothing to do with the church.