The new Comino master plan focused on berthing arrangements at the Blue Lagoon and did not envision new development, Environment Minister José Herrera insisted yesterday.

Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana said in Parliament last week a master plan drawn up by architecture firm Doric Studio had been passed on to the Environment and Resources Authority for review. However, she gave no timeline or details on what the plan contained.

Speaking to the Times of Malta yesterday, Dr Herrera said the plan aimed to modernise berthing arrangements at the Blue Lagoon in an eco-friendly manner, including new restrictions on anchoring to safeguard the marine environment.

He said the plan did not foresee any new development on the island, a protected Natura 2000 site in its entirety, and that he was not aware of any such proposals.

The minister said the ERA was assessing the master plan in the light of Comino’s existing management plans and had found it “acceptable in principle”, though certain details were still being hammered out.

He added that the plans were part of a holistic approach to the island’s protection, with the ERA having recently undertaken further action to map out and safeguard important habitats, clear hundreds of tons of waste and plant thousands of new trees.

As a Natura 2000 site, Comino is subject to a management plan published in 2015.

The plan’s overall vision for the site states: “All protected natural habitats, native plants and animals will flourish and the site’s infrastructure will meet the ecological requirements of the site.”

It also lays down that tourism at the Blue Lagoon and elsewhere should be “practised in harmony with the site’s conservation needs”.

The plan notes that the operators of the Comino Hotel were formulating a “development plan for the area”, which, it warns, could affect protected habitats and species.

“If [development] is to be considered at all, it needs to take very strong cognisance of the great importance of the surrounding pro-tected land and the impacts that urban development may have on such sites,” the management plan states.

The plan calls for the urgent implementation of a carrying capacity assessment for the Blue Lagoon, including seasonal variability of number of tourists, landings of tourists by ferries, entrance fee options, zoning and patrolling.

It also contemplates a cap on visitors due to the negative impact of unrestrained numbers on the natural value of the bay.