A recent Facebook poll revealed that while 41 per cent are supporting the tunnel between Malta and Gozo as proposed, 59 per cent are in favour of sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives.

The poll shows that the absolute majority of people are seriously concerned about the environmental impact and long-term effects such a project will have on Malta and especially on Gozo.  

The amount of voters in the poll was around 6,200 persons and claiming that such polls may not be “scientific” and that most respondents were not Gozitans is irrelevant. 

The suggestion that the Malta-Gozo tunnel is just of Gozitan interest, is a non-starter argument for many reasons.  Gozo is an island forming part of the Maltese archipelago and is considered by many Maltese to be their place of rest and leisure. 

With Malta having such a limited land footprint, the Maltese have a considerable say in deciding the faith of a sister island which to date remains the last remaining area outside the cosmopolitan nightmare that exists in Malta. 

The Maltese also happen to be the largest contributor to Gozo’s tourism sector to date, followed by “foreigners” who have relocated to Gozo and make up a substantial segment of the entire Gozitan community. Historically speaking 1555, was the year all the original Gozo community was taken into slavery with the island later being repopulated by mainly Maltese and Sicilian families, with very few of the original inhabitants ever setting foot again on the island.

The tunnel will be producing an enormous amount of debris, probably the size of the present Magħtab mountain or more, that needs to be disposed of. So far, the only area being considered is Xagħjra, in Malta, a huge disappointment to the construction industry, which was hoping to get an artificial island somewhere in the north of Malta, where the price of property is much higher.

  In itself this disposing of debris will be one of major concern for the environmental NGOs and will be one of the sorest points to be addressed. 

With a 14km tunnel running under 50 metres of sea, a further 75 metres down in the seabed, an average speed of between 35 km/h and 60 km/h speed limit, the journey through will take around anything between 15 to 40 minutes. 

A very claustrophobic experience and may well be a big deterrent for people to travel between the islands. There is no hint that Gozo Channel will remain operational and realistically speaking,  it will not be feasible to purchase new ferry ships and use them across the channel, while there is an alternative route, which would already be absorbing millions, just to maintain it. 

The only ferry line which might be used, and as yet not even considered,  is the dangerous cargo line. Dangerous goods cannot and will not be allowed to go through the tunnel. If anyone doubts this, think of the recent LPG bowser gas leak that had to be flared and the consequences this could have had if it happened in the tunnel. 

The disposal of debris will be one of the major concerns for environmental NGOs and will be one of the sorest points to be addressed

Such a ferry line will not be taking passengers on board and it will most likely be privately chartered since it would be more economically feasible.

Gozo is still suffering power cuts on a regular basis. There is  no sight of the Marsalforn breakwater,  Ras il-Ħobż is pumping out thousands of litres of what seems to be raw drainage, in a pristine diving site,  road infrastructure is at a complete standstill, projects with no approaching end date and no fourth ferry in line, yet our bright political strategists are audacious enough to claim that increasing population, air and noise pollution, social issues, environmental obscenities, traffic congestions in Gozo are all in the interest of Gozitans.   

In relation to brain drain, one of the more striking comments on the poll, was made by a gentleman who vented his frustration at the fact that his daughter needed to travel to Malta, paying thousands of euros in rent to gain access to her post-secondary education. 

This person was highlighting one of the biggest deficiencies Gozo still has when it comes to providing education services needed for any modern society to live in Gozo. The same deficiency exists in the medical field. 

A substantial majority identified the sad reality that the present administration has not been able to comprehend the basic needs of people in relation to transportation. 

It is failing consistently to address the core issues behind the traffic volumes increase and is still persisting in the fruitless exercise of widening roads and destroying thousands of square metres of agricultural land.  

The tunnel will be the cherry on the cake and will only be extending this devastating strategy to Gozo as the number of private cars to Gozo is set to increase by the thousands.    

It is unbelievable that alternative political movements with enough vision to contradict this failing strategy are not proposing feasible, long term and sustainable alternatives. They seem far more interested in high level political subjects, leaving the proverbial bread and butter issues on the bottom of their political agenda. 

So while all this talk of giving Gozo an opportunity of a lifetime by permanently linking it to Malta goes on, the reality is that unless Gozo is given the opportunity of becoming self-sustainable well before any talk of a tunnel is even considered, there is nothing to gain from the tunnel project for most of us, Gozitan residents, and the only beneficiaries will of course be the promoters who are just seeing to fulfil their political agenda, narcissistic egos and fattening their pockets.

Steve Pace is a strategic thinker.

This is a Times of Malta print opinion piece