Senglea residents are once again calling for the ferry stop to be reinstated, months after the transport authority said it would be looking into the matter.
The Residents’ Association said it had been chasing Transport Malta since November and while it had been told the matter was being looked into, no other information has been given.
The association’s PRO Anna Spiteri highlighted the issue again earlier this month during the presentation of results following a three-year project – Mare Nostrum ENPI – which identified the challenges faced by localities in coastal zones.
In October, a Transport Malta spokesman said that discussions with the operator were ongoing, but that the berthing site would require infrastructural changes to cater for the larger ferry introduced last year.
However, according to Ms Spiteri the bigger ferry has adjustable landing stairs on both sides and it can berth anywhere “with very little infrastructural adjustments” needed.
The ferry service between Valletta and the Three Cities currently stops close to Dock One in Cospicua, but had previously included an additional stop close to the Maċina bastion in Senglea.
Moroever, Ms Spiteri said the document implied that the ferry service had been dropped “to make way for other commercial interests”, which she has taken to refer to an application for a floating restaurant in the area close to the Maċina bastion.
“Before any decisions are made we would like to invoke the Aarhus Convention so that all stakeholders will be involved in the discussions of where to berth the ferry,” Ms Spiteri said.
In this way, she said, the Senglea Residents Association, the Senglea Moorings Association and the Local Council would be able to contribute their input.
The Aarhus Convention establishes the rights of individuals and associations with regard to the environment. The convention provides that everyone has a right to receive environmental information held by public authorities.
This can include information on the state of the environment, on policies or measures taken, and on the state of human health and safety where this can be affected by the state of the environment.