The government is mulling the possibility of handing over the responsibility for the quality of roads to the private sector, Transport Minister Austin Gatt said yesterday.

"Malta's road network level is not acceptable and needs immediate addressing," he said, admitting that the government has not invested enough, except for a few arterial roads which were mainly EU funded. "Money is the problem," he said. "The road network requires an investment of €45 million a year and the government has not managed that".

He did not go into specifics but when asked for further clarification, a Roads Ministry spokesman said the plan was for the roads network to be transferred to a contractor responsible for the design, build, financing and operation of the roads.

The contractor would be responsible for building and maintaining the roads for a definite period to have high and uniform standards throughout the network. Further details would be announced in the coming weeks, the spokesman said.

The Labour Party (PL) criticised the fact that such an announcement was not made in Parliament.

It said it would comment in detail when the government's plans were fully explained, adding that the explanation should include how EU funds allocated for the roads would be used, whether consumers would be asked to pay road tolls and what would happen to road employees.

The ministry took exception to the suggestion that people could be made to pay tolls, denying Labour's "implication" categorically. It said it made it clear that talks were still at an early stage and that consultations would be carried out with all stakeholders.