Cyclists can finally take heart: cycle routes and shared priority on secondary roads could soon be on the agenda of the new entity which will look after the €700 million upgrade of Malta’s roads over the next seven years.

It started out as the Roads Authority when first mooted last October, but the entity that is to take over responsibility for this sector from Transport Malta has already morphed into the ‘infrastructure’ agency.

Read: Responsibility for maintenance of all roads to be taken over by new authority

This is perhaps because its new head, Fredrick Azzopardi, is adamant that his team will not only be looking at the resurfacing of the roads in Malta but also looking after the interests of pedestrians and cyclists, among other stakeholders.

This is just one of the aspects of the vast project which will challenge the team, which has to ensure that contractors meet standards and that having a seventh of the island being worked on every year does not bring traffic to a complete halt.

Watch the full Times Talk interview with Mr Azzopardi from Wednesday morning on the Times of Malta website.