Work on some 80 roads around Malta has started after the government increased its budget for works by €6 million.
Maintenance works are set to take place on 24 arterial roads and nine heavily-used link roads around the island while five kilometres of residential streets, including 12 in Buġibba, are being rebuilt.
Roads Minister Austin Gatt said the sum of €16 million -the additional €6 million to another €10 million allocated in the last budget - was over and above the EU funds being invested to rebuild roads, including the Marsascala bypass, which had collapsed after being built with barely any foundations.
He said the increased funds were geared to fix problematic roads, adding that this year's investment was the highest in the past five years.
Dr Gatt said that while resurfacing works would lead to immediate benefits that lasted two to three years, this was not a permanent solution. "To get the full benefit and ensure a road lasts for 25 to 30 years, it needs to be constructed from scratch at a greater expense," he explained.
The €10 million announced in November's budget was spent in the first months of the year.
Work has started in Buġibba and works on the 12 streets were scheduled to be completed by the beginning of next month, Dr Gatt said. Paving works in Valletta should restart towards the end of the year.
Although link roads were the responsibility of local councils, the heavy traffic that passed through the nine chosen points made such works imperative.
Patching work would be carried out in St Paul Street, St Paul's Bay; Notabile Road, Birkirkara; Sliema Road in Gżira and Kappara; Racecourse Street, Siġġiewi; St Paul Street, Cospicua; Marsa Street, Marsa; Cannon Road, Santa Venera and Pitkali Road, Attard.
Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said the increase in funds for road works was part of the government's strategy to maintain employment rates. This included an investment of about €4 million to help manufacturing factories and €1 million to market Malta and aid the tourism sector.
"We all recognise that in the prevailing economic situation, where international demand has gone down substantially, the country needs to create certain demand for economic activity," he said.
When asked why work on about 100 residential roads had not been carried out as promised, Dr Gatt said this would be done when funds were available. "There were other priorities and everything needs to be balanced."
Dr Gatt said the amount of work in Malta did not allow contractors to focus solely on road works. There was need for a new methodology to ensure better continuity and guaranteed jobs, which allowed contractors to invest in specialised equipment.
Mr Fenech said that while the possibility of blacklisting contractors who did not do the work properly had been discussed, this had never been formally introduced.
A 20-kilometre stretch of roads would be rebuilt though Ten-T EU funds amounting to €109 million, with work expected to start next year. These works would cover Ċirkewwa to Pennellu Hill in Mellieħa; the coast road from the Buġibba traffic lights to the Luxol ground; the roads from the sea passenger terminal to December 13 Road in Marsa; from the Marsa traffic lights to Luqa and the road from Għajnsielem to Victoria.