Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1146457
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 JULY 2019 NEWS Position may be co-funded through European Union Funding/Bilateral Funds EU FUND SUPPORT OFFICER Applications are invited for the positions of EU Fund Support Officer in the Ministry for European Affairs and Equality. Applicants must be in possession of a recognised qualification at MQF Level 5 in Accounting, Business Management or Banking or a comparable professional qualification. Applications will be received at the Corporate Services Directorate, Ministry for European Affairs and Equality, 31B, Tal-Pilar, Marsamxett Road, Valletta, VLT 1850 by not later than noon of Friday, 2 nd August, 2019. Further details may be obtained from the Government Gazette of 19th July 2019. Application forms may be downloaded from: https://publicservice.gov.mt/en/people/Pages/PeopleResourcingandCompli ance/FormsandTemplates.aspx JAMES DEBONO AN urban petrol station has joined the race to have its li- cence relocated to a site out- side the development zones, just before the Planning Au- thority changes its policy and bans fuel stations on agricul- tural land. The Mallia petrol station of Siggiewi is located on the kerb- side adjacent to the St Mary chapel, which dates back to 1724, in the village square. Its owners purport that they want to "satisfy the Siggiewi residents' wishes" to their main piazza devoid of the petrol sta- tion next to the 18th century chapel. The petrol station services most of the heavy vehicles driving to and from the nu- merous soft stone quarries and construction yards around Sig- giewi, creating a nuisance to residents. But through relocation the owners will benefit from extra space for a servicing garage, ancillary office and shop, a car wash, two charging points for electric cars and an ATM on a 1,600sq.m site along Mgr Mikiel Azzopardi road. The new policy as drafted will limit ODZ petrol stations to already developed sites with an area of 1,000sq.m, would therefore exclude the proposed petrol station's relocation. Architect and former PN en- vironment minister, George Pullicino, who is representing the owners, justified the choice of the site due to its close prox- imity to a large disturbed area, which until a few years ago was Siggiewi pump wants ODZ land before rules change JAMES DEBONO STUDIES are still underway to assess the feasibility of a mass transit system for the Maltese islands. A spokesperson for transport minister Ian Borg had nothing to add about any progress on their plans. "As we had explained earlier this year, detailed studies are currently underway. Once these studies have been finalised, they will be presented to Government to consider the best way forward. De- tails will be made public at a later stage," the spokesperson said. In June 2018 the ministry told Malta- Today that Transport Malta was "near- ing the completion of a major detailed study" carried out over the previous 18 months on a possible Mass Rapid Tran- sit solution. The study had to be com- pleted later on in 2018 after which the study was to "be presented to govern- ment, to consider the way forward." In March 2019, Borg confirmed that studies being carried out by an interna- tional consortium commissioned by the government were "at a very advanced stage." He also confirmed that studies had been commissioned before he took the transport portfolio. In the same month Transport Malta applied to register "Metro Malta" as a trademark, but when asked on the pros- pects of a metro, Ian Borg replied that the time was not yet ripe for the govern- ment to divulge more information on the subject. "We've been studying in the past year, through an international firm hired by Transport Malta, the possibility and feasibility of a mass transport system for the island. This would preferably be a metro, because of the challenges of trav- elling on the surface of the island. This, of course, doesn't mean that there aren't also challenges when it comes to an un- derground travel system," Borg said. He also confirmed that the government had been given the first draft of a plan. Speaking on current affairs pro- gramme Dissett in the same month, Borg said that the cost of such a project would run into the billions and could potentially take up to 25 years to com- plete. In the meantime, the government has continued to widen the existing road network with the latest being the Cen- tral Link network linking Mriehel, At- tard and Rabat which will gobble up 50,000sq.m of agricultural land. 'Standard reply' from transport ministry on studies originally meant to be finalised by 2018 Studies still underway for mass transit system The Mallia petrol station of Siggiewi is located on the kerbside adjacent to the St Mary chapel, which dates back to 1724, in the village square. Through relocation the owners will get a 1,600sq.m site along Mgr Mikiel Azzopardi road