Marsaxlokk fishermen are up in arms over the simultaneous closure of three slipways as part of a project to upgrade the facilities, but the government is insisting this was necessary to complete the works by summer.

The issue came to the fore recently when fishermen complained that ongoing works were creating disruptions to pull out their boats from the water to carry out repairs, or in case of inclement weather.

While commending the project, fishermen who spoke to Times of Malta said that having three slipways out of action at one go had been a step too far by the authorities.

Moreover, some questioned whether works were being rushed, as the EU funds allocated for it would be lost if the project would not have started by the end of last year.

In its reply state agency Infrastructure Malta, which is responsible for the €700,000 project, noted all works had been planned in consultation with the fishing cooperatives  of the locality and other related stakeholders.

A spokesman noted that to upgrade all existing 10 slipways by summer, it was not feasible to do them one at a time, but three at one go. This arrangement was backed by the stakeholders, he added.

The project will involve the removal of marine growth and encrustations, the reconstruction and reinforcement of concrete structures, the refurbishment of the slipway toes and new timber skids. 

Infrastructure Malta said that half of the slipways needed major repairs and would require an extensive overhaul.

Furthermore, another three were being rebuilt at a lower level since they were unusable due to their ramps being too high above the water level.

It was also pointed out that at the request of the fishing community, one of the reconstructed slipways was being upgraded in order to accommodate larger vessels.

Consequently, once completed, the project would increase the number of accessible slipways at Marsaxlokk, the spokesman said.

The agency noted that this year there were other works in the pipeline to upgrade the quality of the marine infrastructure used by the fisheries, cargo and commercial ferry sectors. These included the new breakwater at Qrejten and the upgrading of pontoons at Il-Magħluq, both in Marsaxlokk.

In Mġarr, Gozo, new quays will be built, pontoons upgraded and the port dredged.

Infrastructure Malta would also be developing new passenger ferry landing stations at Cospicua and Sliema to promote alternative means of mass transport, the spokesman said.