Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1098850
NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 MARCH 2019 PAUL COCKS SMALL boreholes drilled in Valletta may have confirmed that a proposed tunnel to run beneath Valletta to link Marsamxett to the Grand Harbour, would encounter no archaeological remains or geological obstructions, MaltaToday was told. Anglu Xuereb, the construction mogul behind the project, said that over €500,000 was spent in a series of studies to ensure the viability of the tunnel for a ferry that will connect the harbours. The €10 million project was launched through a concession from Projects Malta. Xuereb said all that is left is for the gov- ernment to issue a tender for ferry services and to get an agreement in place. He re- mains confident that the project will be completed within 18 months from com- mencement of work. Xuereb confirmed that no objections had been raised about his project and that even UNESCO – the United Nations' Ed- ucational, Scientific and Cultural Organi- sation – had described it as "an ingenious idea". The concession grants Xuereb rights to create the first ever ferry tunnel beneath Valletta to link Sliema to the Three Cities – Senglea, Vittoriosa and Cospicua. The original completion date was scheduled to be summer 2017, to be functional by 2018, in time for the city becoming the Europe- an Capital for Culture. Existing ferry services already exist, link- ing Sliema and the three cities to Valletta, but this tunnel would allow commuters to travel straight from Sliema to the three cit- ies and vice versa. According to the plans submitted, the tunnel will run through Valletta from Marsamxetto harbour near the water polo pitch, running all the way underneath Val- letta and exiting near Lascaris Wharf. A trip from Sliema to the three cit- ies is expected to take some 20 minutes, through a tunnel seven metres wide with a system of traffic lights to make sure that only one boat passes at a time. AIG Pro- jects, that helped design the 14km under- ground tunnels for the Msida flood relief project, are involved in the project. Xuereb said that the tunnel would pro- vide a viable alternative to existing modes of transport and alleviate traffic in the Harbour region. It also ties in with Xuereb's broader transport plan for Malta, a project he has been promoting for years and which – he now says – fits perfectly with the govern- ment's current roadwork projects. "One of the short-term proposals for easing traffic congestion in my plan is road widening and the widening of junc- tions and approaching sliproads," he said. "Once the government announced its plans to tackle the issue of traffic on our roads, I held meetings with Infrastructure Malta to explain the merits of my sugges- tions." Some of those suggestions were taken onboard by IM, Xuereb said, as can be seen by the current work to widen junc- tions, sliproads and approaches. "Already we are seeing results, but I would like to see plans for the medium and long term, like the ones I have put for- ward in my proposal," he said. "But these will need a strong political will to devise and implement." In the medium term, Xuereb proposes work on major arterial roads, by-passes and confluence points, as in the case of Lija. Long-term proposals include a mass transit system and a road vehicle capping system that would allow one to purchase a new vehicle only if they handed in an older vehicle for scrapping at the same time. pcocks@mediatoday.com.mt Borehole drilling in Valletta confirms viability of sea ferry tunnel The tunnel will run from Marsamxetto harbour near the waterpolo pitch, all the way underneath Valletta and exiting near Lascaris Wharf