Recent plans unveiled by Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi to bolster Gudja airport’s capacity, so as to match that of Gatwick, might have titillated those enamoured of economic expansion. But it has definitely raised the apprehension levels of residents living in the environs of the airport – especially since the pledged “investment in taxiways and other infrastructure” might translate into considerable ODZ spillover.
The concerns are even more legitimate when considering that Malta Industrial Parks (MIP) has been tasked with drawing up plans for the pledged expansion. The MIP enjoys a highly privileged position within the planning process. In fact, any development confined to industrial zones managed by this entity is not subject to the scrutiny of a planning application but simply of a DNO (Development Notification Order). This is normally not even published in the press so the opinion of statutory consultees, such as the Environment and Resources Authority, is not sought!
Some lateral thinking skills are sorely needed to avoid encroaching on ODZ land in the environs of the airport
The MIP’s involvement begs the question: will the proposed expansion of the existing infrastructure at Gudja airport be subject to an EIA or will the DNO bypass be resorted to?
Some number-crunching reveals the yawning gulf between Gatwick Airport and the one at Gudja, both in terms of current and projected air traffic volumes. Gatwick, for instance, handles nearly 50 million passengers annually, with plans to bolster this figure to 80 million by 2022. Projections released by Malta International Airport point to a record seven million passengers being handled this year, representing a remarkable appreciation since the modest volume handled up to a decade ago. But Gatwick’s tally is still a quantum leap away.
Probably, the minister used Gatwick as a generic rather than a specific example to advocate growth and expansion.
No aviation expert myself, I sought advice from aviation enthusiasts. They told me that our airport is almost exclusively used by relatively small aircraft, using short runways, with other runways servicing large planes belonging to just one carrier. This, coupled with other facts such as an average of one landing every 13-14 minutes at our airport, suggests that current air traffic volumes don’t justify the proposed expansion plans.
Unfortunately, one has to resort to the rumour mill when, due to failure to publish the proposed plans, the intent remains unclear. And the rumour mill has it that the Ħal Far road linking the industrial estate to the Gudja airport is set for a major overhaul which might involve a road-widening exercise. This, in turn, might spearhead the taxiway expansion by incorporating the two seemingly unrelated developments into a single one. The alternative would be to decouple the two, expanding the new proposed taxiway laterally and thus relocating the existing two-lane Ħal Far road.
Bir ix-Xagħra view from Ta' Loretu road could pass through there.This prompts a number of questions. What, for example, would happen to the walking/jogging/cyling lanes lining the main runway used by thousands of people every day. What would happen to the Loreto Chapel, dating back to 1676, an iconic landmark right on the periphery of the same runway. This is not to mention the high-quality agricultural land and the recently revamped Ħas-Saptan fuel depot along the road.
The postulated land uptake is obviously not the only major anticipated environmental impact. Noise and air emissions would obviously rise with the expansion of the taxiway and aircraft parking facilities, especially if one takes into consideration the cumulative impact of other large-scale projects proposed for the same geographical area (e.g. motorsports track and industrial expansion at Ħal Far).
Ta' Loretu Chapel as seen from Bir ix-Xagħra.With so many questions fielded within this column, I might be accused of scare-mongering and of pointless hype. The reality is that in the absence of concrete information from the authorities, speculation is the only possibility. Such speculation can only be curbed through transparency, in this case the publication of all plans for fresh taxiways as well as consultation with residents who near the airport.
The vision to turn Malta into an aviation hub is a sterling example of diversification and probably makes for sound economic logic, especially since it complements previous advances in the same sector (e.g. aircraft servicing and repairs). The aim of those raising legitimate concerns about the touted developments is not to act as some sort of wet blanket. However, some lateral thinking skills are sorely needed to avoid encroaching on ODZ land in the environs of the airport and to avoid approaching further contiguous residential areas. For instance, existing under-utilised space at the former Luqa airport could be availed of so as to avoid encroaching on new parcels of land.
Rare silver lining
The road-widening largesse that our country is experiencing has not spared rural areas, with untold damage being wrought to biodiversity from the surfacing and widening of once modest country lanes. In some instances, concrete was poured only a few inches away from watercourses, as in the case documented at Wied l-Isqof, along the stretch meandering between Rabat and Żebbuġ.
Environmental groups, including Għaqda Siġar Maltin, rightly flagged up the issue to Minister José Herrera. The ERA obliged Infrastructure Malta to retrace its steps and rip away the concrete from the widened swathes so they could be replaced with a veneer of soil, enabling reinstatement of the countryside lanes.
Contrary to public perception, such road-widening exercises can be started by virtue of the DNO procedure and thus can be exempted from the customary dose of scrutiny normally afforded to planning applications.
This was a further tooth-cutting exercise for the ERA, which needs to strive to assert itself further in the local planning and development context, despite the manifold spokes out there.