Some 448 roads in 47 towns and villages will be redone over the next year, marking an investment of €13.5 million, Local Councils Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said announced yesterday.

He said 202 roads in 26 localities would see a €7 million investment, funded by a public-private partnership, with the large chunk of the money coming from the government.

A further 185 roads in 33 localities will be funded by local councils, however, the money will still come from the government after it decided to specifically allocate €5.2 million to councils to be used for roadworks.

The figure equates to 17 per cent of all funding allocated to councils this year.

Another 61 roads will be repaved after the government decided to undertake a pilot project in Kirkop, Mqabba and Madliena (which falls under the Swieqi council), at a cost of €1.3 million.

Dr Said gave these details ­during a visit to Mqabba, which will see 29 of its roads repaved over the next year. He was accompanied by Mqabba mayor Noel Cutajar and several councillors.