Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1042376
maltatoday | TUESDAY • 23 OCTOBER 2018 11 BUDGET 2019 JAMES DEBONO THE Budget underlines the government's strategy aimed at reducing "dependency on pri- vate cars"but falls short of any disincentives penalising car owners or measures encourag- ing car pooling with the main measure being that of offering free public transport to those aged between 14 and 15 who will join those aged between 16 and 20 who already benefit from free public transport. The Budget also renews VAT refund schemes for bicycles, scooters and motorbikes and the exemption from registra- tion tax for electric cars. The Budget reaffirms the government's commitment for road-building projects while acknowledging a need to "marry the necessary develop- ment of roads with the protec- tion of green areas and trees," in what could be seen as a rec- ognition of criticism that such projects are taking a toll on agricultural land and mature roadside trees. In his speech Scicluna himself declared that the government "understands" this criticism. With this aim in mind, next year the government is allocat- ing €1 million for the creation of more green areas and "urban gardens"as part of these pro- jects and in a highly symbolic gesture a tree will be planted for every car which is imported. But in a sign that improving road infrastructure remains a priority, the Budget includes a commitment for a €100 mil- lion investment in roads in Malta and Gozo. The Budget does not refer to individual road projects, most of which have already been an- nounced. No reference is made in the Budget to the development of a mass transit transport sys- tem like a metro or monorail. Only three months ago Transport Minister Ian Borg had announced that studies are being carried out by Arup, a London-based engineering and consultancy firm to assess which mass transit option is best for Malta. But the Budget does include more concrete plans for mari- time transport such as the al- ready announced ferry landing infrastructure for maritime transport in Bormla, Sliema and Valletta. And significantly, for the first time, the government also referred to the develop- ment of similar infrastructure in St Paul's Bay, St Julian's and Ta'Xbiex. The government also an- nounced a new scheme to in- centivise private developers to develop more carparks which will have a roof garden in ur- ban areas. Few concrete measures to reduce car dependency ROADS & TRANSPORT • €100 million for road building • €1 million for urban gardens E-SPORTS MATTHEW VELLA MALTA will seek to enter the eSports market to attract events and developers to the island, in what is considered to be a new frontier for the island's economy. One of the proposals stemming from Budget 2019 is an aggressive move to form a cluster for the eSports world, which comprises competitive and pro- fessional video gaming. Most commonly, eSports take the form of organised, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between pro- fessional players. Although organised online and offline competitions have long been a part of video game culture, these were largely between amateurs un- til the late 2000s when participation by professional gamers and spectatorship in these events through live streaming saw a large surge in popularity. By the 2010s, eSports was a signifi- cant factor in the video game indus- try, with many game developers ac- tively designing toward a professional eSport subculture. By 2019, it is estimated that 427 mil- lion people worldwide will be watching some form of eSports. The increasing availability of online streaming media platforms, particularly Panda.tv, You- Tube and Twitch.tv, has become central to the growth and promotion of eSports competitions. The global eSports market generated US$325 million of revenue in 2015 and was expected to make $493 million in 2016; the global eSports audience in 2015 was 226 million people. Poland is one of the fastest growing eSports markets in Europe. As a result, the number of teams and tournaments hosted in Poland continues to grow, al- together making this market a melting pot of business opportunities for inves- tors from around the world. Malta targets competitive video gaming market