“It is time to connect the two islands with a permanent road,” Joseph Borg, former chairman of Gozo Channel, said recently. He was reported with great prominence in the local media and what he said merits the highest consideration.
As far back as 1968, the idea of a causeway, a bridge, had been launched. A pressure group was set up to stop this project because it was believed that Gozo would lose its peace and quiet. I can confirm that I was one of those who at that time opposed the bridge.
For some years a service was given by means of a helicopter but it is not the right solution for the daily commuter and nor is an airstrip, which is raised from time to time but seems to attract little attention.
Gozitan commuters experience daily difficulties, spending at least two hours to make the voyage by ferry, which is heavily dependent on weather conditions. It is a daily race against time. Problems are faced by at least 1,000 Gozitans working in Malta who need to park their cars in Mġarr, where parking space is very limited. There are also several Gozitan workers who use a second car which is usually left parked at Ċirkewwa to be used only in Malta and thus eliminate the daily payment for their car to Gozo Channel.
A few days ago I had one of my worst experiences due to the bad weather conditions. After seven days hospitalised in Mater Dei following a major operation, I had to wait for at least 45 minutes in a car at the other side of Ċirkewwa, on the quay being used by the ferry because of the bad weather. I had just missed the previous trip by seconds. It took me one-and-a-half hours to get to Mġarr from the time I arrived in Ċirkewwa.
From my car I could observe the daily Gozitan users of Gozo Channel shivering in the rain, wind and cold.
The possibility of a “permanent road” between the two islands, as raised by Mr Borg, was followed by news that Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said would be formally presenting the proposal with preliminary studies to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.
Let us hope that this important issue will not be shelved but studied as it is a constructive one. Let us hope that all five Gozitan members of Parliament will work together so that Gozo will be linked to Malta, thus enabling Gozitan commuters to have a real and decent mode of transport in all kinds of weather conditions.
According to the Demographic Review of the Maltese Islands (1995, 2001) in 2025, 24.4 per cent of the Maltese and Gozitan population will be over 60. In Gozo alone, though, this percentage will be much greater. The main problem is the number of Gozitan youths who emigrated before 1975.
Now Gozo is facing another form of modern emigration. This is to our sister island of Malta. This proposed “permanent road” would stop the younger generation from settling in Mata due to the present difficulties to travel to their place of work. Even Gozitan industry can be improved and more people will find work in Gozo.
In the absence of this proposed “permanent road” Gozo will soon be considered as an elderly and/or holiday resort.