It costs €4.1 million a year for Gozitan workers to commute to Malta and reducing travelling time by just five minutes per crossing would save a minimum of €1.6 million every year, according to E-Cubed Consultants.
A report prepared by the firm estimated that there were 1,800 Gozitans working, and a further 1,100 studying in Malta.
It calculated lost working time at a rate of €15.07 per hour and that of non-working time at €4.61 per hour.
The report was drawn up as part of an exercise to look at the cost benefits of transport options for Gozo – particularly the construction of a permanent link whether through a bridge or tunnel.
“Improved access has the potential to generate economic benefits through job creation and reduced commuting times,” consultant Gordon Cordina said.
A survey among employers identified accessibility and transport costs as the main obstacle to investment in Gozo, rating these as being more than three times more important than skills and fiscal incentives.
Gozo Business Chamber president Michael Grech said that the cost of constructing a permanent link – whether a tunnel or bridge – had to take into consideration the cost of commuting.
“The time saved in travelling would average approximately two hours for each round trip. This means that a Gozitan normally wastes around one month of working days a year in travelling,” he said.
Mr Grech also pointed out that even if there were no permanent link, the ferries would need to be replaced within the next 12 to 15 years.
“The cost to replace the ferries could be anything between €150-200 million at today’s prices and not including inflation. This does not include the running costs.”
Mr Grech is a fierce supporter of the tunnel option. At present, a Chinese state-owned company is carrying out a feasibility study which is meant to be concluded by September. However, he has already started delving into similar projects to get an idea of the cost.
“The Faroe Islands have built two tunnels in the past 15 years, one measuring 4.9km and another 6.2km. These cost £35 million and £46 million respectively and had a considerable impact on the number of vehicles crossing between the islands. With the former, some 100,000 vehicles crossed by ferry in 2005, but this has since grown to nearly 800,000 a year, thanks to the bridge.
“The government could easily give out the project on a land concession proposal of, say, 50 years and I am sure that the private sector will go for it. In that 50-year period the amount of money saved on the time taken to cross by ferry would probably well surpass the original cost of a tunnel,” he said.