Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1104601
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 APRIL 2019 NEWS JAMES DEBONO A Gozo road-widening project will cut across the hillside gar- dens beneath Fort Chambray, taking up some 8,000sqm of ag- ricultural land, woodland and dense vegetation. The new connection into the Miggiaro gardens forms part of a larger project involving works along Triq ix-Xatt, Triq Lourdes, Triq Chambray, and Triq l-Im- garr in Mgarr. Plans presented by the Gozo ministry show a new road pass- ing behind existing buildings along Triq ix-Xatt, linking Mgarr harbour to Triq Lourdes near the church. The afforested hillside covers an area of 45,000sq.m, which in recent years was planted with 2,300 trees and shrubs. Apart from their aesthetic importance, the gardens help prevent soil erosion. A spokesperson for the Gozo ministry defended the new plans, insisting that the Labour mani- festo specifically refers to the building of an alternative road to and from the port. Labour's manifesto, in fact, commits the government to "study in detail" an alternative road from Mgarr "with great sensitivity to the en- vironment". "This project intends to im- prove and ease the traffic flow to and from Gozo's only des- ignated port which at the mo- ment is serviced by a narrow road," the spokesperson said. Asked about the environmen- tal impact on the Fort Cham- bray hillside, the spokesperson replied that the project was de- signed to minimise the impact on the environment. "The Min- istry for Gozo will compensate for this project since it is already planning other afforestation projects around the island in areas designated for this scope." Plans show the proposed road passing right through designat- ed woodland and "dense vege- tation", but the trees in this part of the project are not identified. Further uphill, 22 pine trees (mainly along Triq Lourdes), 12 eucalyptus trees, seven fig trees and one prune tree have been identified. The project foresees the plant- ing of 18 oak trees in the vicin- ity of the parking area leading to the harbour, 20 eucalyptus trees and 11 pine trees. Further loss of agricultural land is envisaged in the rest of the project, which will also entail the demolition of the Gozo channel buildings near the car park. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Gozo Ferries road to pass right through Chambray woodland The new connection into the Miggiaro gardens forms part of a larger project involving works along Triq ix-Xatt, Triq Lourdes, Triq Chambray, and Triq l-Imgarr in Mgarr. The road will pass behind existing buildings along Triq ix-Xatt, linking Mgarr harbour to Triq Lourdes near the church KARL AZZOPARDI A patrol boat with the migrants who have been stranded off the Maltese coast for over ten days has brought the rescued mi- grants to shore. The 64 migrants that had been aboard the German rescue ship Alan Kurdi disembarked in Malta, before being transferred to Germany and France. French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner broke the news on Twitter, saying he had been in touch with his Maltese counterpart – Michael Farrugia – about the impasse. "I confirmed that France, like Germany and several other European partners, will show solidarity and welcome the ref- ugees aboard the Alan Kurdi, allowing them to disembark at Valletta," Castaner tweeted. The 64 migrants aboard the rescue vessel include 12 women and a baby, picked up off the Libyan coast on 3 April. The vessel had already tried to enter Lampedusa, but Italian Interior Minister Matteo Sal- vini refused to grant them ac- cess. He had said Berlin should take them instead, seeing as to how the vessel was operated by a German NGO, Sea-Eye. Castaner stated that French officials from the interior min- istry would be sent to Malta in the coming hours 'to facilitate the transfer to France of 20 people needing protection'. Sea-Eye: why did we have to wait? "It is simply not explainable why it was necessary for peo- ple to stay on board during the long negotiations while govern- ments negotiated 64 individual fates," said Gorden Isler, Chair- man of Sea-Eye. Sea-Eye said that politicians in Europe were re-interpreting reality when they spoke about "pressure" that they endured over the migrant situation in the Mediterranean. "What about the pressure that 64 people in distress had to endure on a rubber dinghy? What about the pressure that has been put on our crew and 64 rescued people for eleven days?" Isler continued. Rescued migrants from Alan Kurdi brought to Malta for resettlement