Updated 4.45pm
The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association will be contacting hotels in Buġibba and Qawra to assess complaints reached at Times of Malta about nighttime resurfacing work along the promenade.
The head of the MHRA, Tony Zahra, acknowledged that the works were always going to be an inconvenience and it would have been preferable to have the work carried out in winter.
"But the options were either to start after Easter or wait until winter – which would mean another summer with these disastrous roads. We consulted stakeholders and this is what they wanted: for things to start.
READ: Buġibba promenade to be resurfaced
"Nobody has called MHRA to complain about the fact that the works would be done at night. This is the first I am hearing about it but I will now ask my team to contact hotels to find out more,” he said.
Hoteliers complained that working at night would disturb their guests.
"There are thousands of tourists staying in the hotels around the coast who are out for much of the day, sightseeing or at the beach. But at night, they tend to stay in the area to eat so finding the roads closed will really impact the restaurants here. And at night they want to rest – not to have to endure three nights of heavy machinery, especially at this time of year when many of them can still sleep with their balconies open rather than having to rely on air-conditioning," one hotelier said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
At night they want to rest – not to have to endure three nights of heavy machinery, especially at this time of year when many of them can still sleep with their balconies open
The hoteliers said that they had contacted the CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority, Paul Bugeja, but that so far, the government and the transport authority do not appear willing to budge.
The €3.5 million investment – made possible through eco-contribution funds –started just after Easter following numerous complaints from the local council and local businesses. The six-week project is now getting to the final stages and Transport Malta said earlier this week that works would be carried out between 10pm and 8am, with parts of the road closed to traffic.
Update:
The MTA has organised a meeting on Thursday morning with the MHRA, Transport Malta and representatives from some of the hotels in the area in a bid to find a compromise between the logistics of closing off the roads during the day and the inconvenience to tourists at night.