Gozitans have long clamoured for a permanent link to Malta but not everyone there agrees a bridge or tunnel will be of benefit.

Veteran hotelier Victor Borg admits he is not too keen on either of the options that have caught popular imagination over the past two years.

“I would rather prefer spending a substantial amount of money in Gozo itself to improve cleanliness, upgrade roads, ensure maintenance of rubble walls, improve the ferry service and create job opportunities that will cut down the need for Gozitans to travel to Malta,” he said.

Mr Borg was reacting to the news that a feasibility study conducted by a Chinese firm found a bridge at almost €1 billion to build. The annual maintenance cost would be €4 million.

He insisted that with such a hefty price tag, the money could be used to address far more pressing priorities for Gozo.

“I am a born and bred Gozitan and would welcome any euro spent in Gozo. But there are priorities and with a lower capital investment we could achieve better returns,” Mr Borg said.

A poll commissioned last year by the European Parliament office in Malta found a majority of Gozitans in favour of a bridge or tunnel.

The results showed that 54 per cent of Gozitans believed a physical link would benefit their island, while less than a quarter believed Gozo would change for the worse.

The bridge idea was resuscitated in the last administration when a pre-feasibility study was commissioned to assess whether a tunnel link was possible.

We are confident that with a long-term concession the private sector will be interested in a tunnel

It picked up steam after the election when Labour signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese construction company to carry out the feasibility study.

The study, which is the most detailed exercise ever assessing the feasibility of a permanent link, opted for a bridge that skirted Comino’s east coast with landing spots at Qala and Armier.

Environmentalists slammed the bridge idea as a “non-starter” while Opposition leader Simon Busuttil described it as “hideous” in Parliament on Monday.

Dr Busuttil said the Opposition favoured a tunnel if it was feasible since it would be less intrusive, a position shared by Gozo’s main business organisation.

Michael Grech, president of the Gozo Business Chamber, said the organisation had always favoured a tunnel over a bridge.

He said cost indications given by a Norwegian tunnel expert two years ago for a single bore tunnel with a three-lane road were in the range of €150 million.

“We are confident that with a long-term concession the private sector will be interested in investing in a tunnel,” Dr Grech said.

Apart from cost, he added a tunnel was superior to a bridge because it had no visual impact. A bridge could also be unusable in very strong winds, he insisted.

Asked about the bridge’s €1 billion price, Dr Grech insisted it was not unfeasible if the private sector was given a long concession and allowed to introduce a toll.

“But in principle we are against a toll because this is about accessibility and nowhere else in Malta are there tolls for road users, irrespective of how many funds are spent on road construction,” he said.

Dr Grech noted that in the Faroe Islands, a group of islands in the North Sea with a population of 50,000, two underwater tunnels were built and more were planned to connect the population centres.

The first study on a fixed link between Gozo and Malta was carried out in 1972 by Japanese government experts, who evaluated three options: a sunken tunnel, a bridge that used Comino as a stepping stone and a causeway that required reclaimed land on both sides of the channel.

The study found that the bridge was the more feasible option in terms of its construction costs.

Bridge figures

*The 1972 costs have been approximated to the value in today’s currency after taking into account inflation, while the 2014 cost excludes taxes.

** The 1972 plan proposed a bridge between Malta and Comino and another between Comino and Gozo.

*** Includes access roads and in the case of the 1972 study the road on Comino.

**** The 2014 study includes two narrower motorcycle lanes on each side.