More delays in the Dock 1 project in Cospicua “are unacceptable” and detrimental to residents and businesses, Labour spokesman Charles Buhagiar said yesterday.

He mentioned the Regatta Bar and Restaurant owners, who said they had to sell their belongings to stay afloat after their business had to be shut down for 14 months due to the works.

“This is a perfect example of bad planning. The project has been in the pipeline since 1996, so there was ample time to plan,” he said.

“When a Labour government paved Republic Street, Valletta, not one shop had to close. It’s all a question of planning.” He was addressing a press conference close to two satirical banners, put up by residents, saying: “For sale, only €3.8 million, owners bankrupt,” and: “Welcome to the land where time stood still”.

The Labour spokesman for sustainable development in the south, Silvio Parnis, said the south of the island should not be treated like a second-class zone with second-class citizens.

In reaction, the Infrastructure Ministry said six fresh calls for tenders had been issued and would be adjudicated by the end of the month. The first contract granted will be to clean up the area.

It said the government had frozen nearly €1 million in bank guarantees that had been deposited by the sacked Italian contractor, Marinelli Construzioni SpA.

The ministry said the Labour Party was just being negative and did not mention any of the other projects the government had completed in the south.