Barely a month after the election, the Infrastructure Ministry has set off down the bumpy path of revamping all of Malta’s roads, in the ambitious €700 million, seven year-plan that was one of Labour’s grandest electoral pledges.

The government is pledging to prioritise residential roads that have never been freshly asphalted, a spokesman for the ministry said.

A total of 170 residential roads will be redone during the initial phase of the project.

The government has committed itself to resurface all of these roads within three years, at a minimum rate of 60 roads per year.

TIMES TALK: 'We will prove road resurfacing sceptics wrong,' says Ian Borg

A specific management agency will be set up to achieve these road building and upgrading targets, the ministry spokesman said.

This will mean that local councils will no longer be directly responsible for asphalting roads.

While no longer being tasked with surfacing roads, the government’s plan will see local councils entering into public-private partnerships with companies in order to ensure the continued maintenance of urban roads. 

The Infrastructure Ministry, led by Ian Borg, will hone in on the hundreds of roads that have fallen into disrepair.

Works will be prioritised according to the state of the roads as well as the number of families and businesses directly affected by them. 

A lot of damage is done to roads when they are dug up in order for utilities such as water and electricity to be passed through them.

The government will seek to minimise the damage done to roads in such instances by passing such utilities under the pavements. The Infrastructure Ministry spokesman told The Sunday Times of Malta that the plans were currently being bounced off major stakeholders, including local councils, national authorities, utilities and telecommunications companies and road contractors.

Specific deadlines and objectives were being set in order to make sure the government’s aims were achieved with the least possible inconvenience to drivers, pedestrians, residents and businesses. 

The spokesman said further details about these plans would be announced in the coming months.

He said the government was seeking long-term, sustainable solutions to upgrade the quality of roads and ensure ongoing attention was given to keep them in good shape year after year.

The spokesman said this commitment marked a definite breaks from the past, not only in terms of the extent of investment but also in the methods and the administrative structures envisioned.

Milestones

• 170 roads to be done up in first three years.
• Special agency to be set up to manage the works.
• Local councils to form public-private partnerships.
• Residential roads and those in bad state to be given priority.