The debate on the proposed Gozo tunnel should be based on independent and realistic studies.  Unfortunately, the important geological one is being kept, for some unknown reason, under wraps.

The economic one, authored by Gordon Cordina and commissioned by the most interested of pro-tunnel parties, the Gozo Business Chamber, came to the conclusion that the tunnel is financially and economically viable. I disagree.

We need realistic financial studies. And these can only be conducted once the tunnel pathway and design have been definitely finalised.

As for Marvin Formosa’s social impact assessment, it was commissioned by Malta Transport, a convinced tunnel apostle, while the environmental impact assessment is still in its infancy.

This is very unfortunate, since the debate till now has been based on emotional fallacious arguments.

I fully subscribe to the view that the tunnel issue impacts most those Gozitans who have to travel daily to Malta for work, study or medical reasons.

They have been consistently let down. They deserve much better treatment which, in my view, translates into regular fast ferries to the Buġibba, Sliema, Valletta areas. Something they have been promised for years by PNPL… but which never materialised.

Environmental, sociological, geological and economic studies apart, my argument about the tunnel is that the travelling time for a Gozitan will not decrease: now it is about 45 minutes waiting and crossing over by ferry and at least 60 minutes blocked in traffic from Ċirkewwa to Valletta/University/Mater Dei; with a tunnel, it will be about 30 minutes for the one lane crossing from Nadur to Manikata and at least 75 minutes blocked in traffic from Manikata to Valletta/University/Mater Dei.

Having said this, it is not only up to the Gozitans to decide on the tunnel.

We Maltese are likewise impacted, since Malta and Gozo are one small country and the Żonqor or Pembroke projects impact on the Gozitans in the same way that the tunnel will impact on the quality of life of the Maltese, first and foremost among those in the Xemxija-Manikata area.

A consistent silent minority is against. Many of this silent minority are scared to speak up publicly because of retribution

Therefore, no amount of Facebook bullying on the part of people like Maestro Debrincat is going to stop me from expressing my views.

What I cannot accept is arguments based on blatant lies. The first one is an economic one, first brought up by Nationalist MP Chris Said. In 2011 he invented the cost of €150 million for the­­ building of a tunnel. In 2015 this mysteriously doubled and went up to €300 million.  In reality, some experts seem to think that the expense might even be over €1 billion.

However, until a serious financial study based on the real costs of digging and building is made public, we cannot really judge.

The second blatant inaccuracy has been pushed, hopefully unknowingly and unwillingly, by Malta State TV, TVM. In September this year, TVM reported that “The preliminary results of a technical study by the University of Malta of the geology in the rocks between Malta and Gozo show that the excavation for the tunnel between the two islands can be done”.

It added that Prof. Aaron Micallef stated that “I think today’s engineering is advanced enough to be able to excavate the tunnel which Transport Malta has in mind”. 

I am reliably informed that this is not the case. Micallef and his team were entrusted with analysing the quality and structure of the rock between Malta and Gozo and not with giving their views on possible tunnelling.

In fact, the geological report prepared by Micallef’s team includes an assessment of the Blue Clay formation as well as of the rock formation, faults, etc.  The task of the University team was to provide a report on the geology along the tunnel route (onshore and offshore) and in no way was the issue of whether the tunnel is feasible or not assessed.

That is an engineering question which has to be assessed by engineers with experience in tunnel excavation.

A third doubt concerns the 82 per cent of Gozitans who would be in favour of a tunnel. This results from Formosa’s 2017 study, which carried out a survey among 250 Gozitans, found that 82 per cent were in favour of the tunnel. Malta Today’s more recent 2018 figure, 66 per cent, seems nearer the mark to me.

I certainly would not be surprised if a majority of Gozitans were in favour of the tunnel. But I can assure you that a consistent silent minority is against. Many of this silent minority are scared to speak up publicly because of retribution.

But there are also those courageous Gozitans who, because they have had time to think things over calmly, have come out in public, warning against the dangers of reducing Gozo to a traffic gridlocked island with deteriorating air quality and consequent respiratory diseases, as is the case with Malta.

The names of Daniel Azzopardi, a renowned Gozitan and international influencer recently featured on the cover of The Circle, and Anthony Busuttil, a Gozitan university student, come immediately to mind.

Others should take the cue from them and defy the Facebook bullies who taunt and insult.

What is at stake for Maltese and Gozitan present and future generations is too much for us all to keep silent. 

Arnold Cassola, an Alternattiva Demokratika candidate for MEP elections, is former Secretary General of the European Green Party.

This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece