The buoy for cruise liners outside picturesque Xlendi Bay has finally been installed, years after it was promised.

Transport Minister Austin Gatt said yesterday work on the buoy was completed last weekend and cruise liners could use it to berth outside Xlendi and ferry tourists to land on boats.

Laying a buoy off Xlendi has been on the cards since 2006, when the cruise ship Seabourne Pride anchored there.

Five cruise ships stopped off Gozo last year, anchoring off Mġarr or Xlendi, but no calls were planned for this year.

Although a small number of other ships followed, their masters had complained that engines could not be switched off because the ships dragged anchor.

In September 2007, then Transport Minister Ċensu Galea had said the government was developing plans to build a cruise liner quay on the outer part of the Mġarr breakwater to provide berthing facilities for 200-metre long liners. A planning application had been submitted to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority but no decision was taken.

Dr Gatt also said the government had issued three tenders for the provision of temporary berthing facilities for yachts at Kalkara, Ta' Xbiex and Xemxija while there was also the possibility of developing another yacht marina at Sa Maison.