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14.11.19 9 EDITORIAL BusinessToday is published every Thursday. The newspaper is a MediaToday publication and is distributed to all leading stationers, business and financial institutions and banks. MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EDITOR: PAUL COCKS CONTRIBUTING JOURNALIST: MASSIMO COSTA BusinessToday, MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016, Malta Newsroom email: bt@mediatoday.com.mt Advertising: afarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Telephone: 00356 21 382741 T he stormy weather of Tuesday dis- rupted sea travel between Malta and Gozo, leaving many Gozitan workers and hospital patients stranded for the night. is will be the easiest argument to make in favour of a permanent link between both islands but it will not be the sound- est. Much as the disruption in service caused distress to many Gozitans, including pa- tients who had travelled early to Malta for treatment at Mater Dei Hospital, this is not a normal thing. Complete disruption because of extreme weather conditions occurs on a handful of occasions throughout the year, which makes it hard to justify the expense to build a permanent connection on this ba- sis alone. However, what Tuesday's storm did was highlight the precariousness of Gozo's in- sularity. In the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, the rough sea also damaged the subsea mains pipe that delivers pota- ble water from Malta to Gozo. Gozitans need the peace of mind that life can continue functioning as normal on their island. But not just. ey also have a right to reliable travel infrastructure that their Maltese brethren enjoy. From a Gozitan perspective, sea travel means waking up early to make the first ferry trip to Malta; and trying to wrap up meetings early, to get back to Gozo in a decent time. is inconvenience may appear fickle to many Maltese but it is an economic and social disruptor for Gozitans and cannot be disregarded at the bat of an eyelid. e construction of a permanent link will help remove the uncertainty, giving Gozitans a reliable travel option that does not depend on time schedules, weather and ship outages. e proposed tunnel link will not come cheap – a price tag ranging between €300 million and €500 million has been floated. Part of that cost is money that would have to be spent anyway to create a bypass for Xemxija as part of the Ten-T network. Plans first floated in 2006 for this bypass were abandoned and Xemxija Hill strug- gles to keep up with growing congestion. e tunnel will hive off the traffic to and from Gozo off the Xemxija route, making it less likely to require a new road in the area. Part of the cost can be recouped through increased economic activity in Gozo and the northern part of Malta, and a toll on non-Gozitan cars using the tunnel. But there is a hint of unfairness in de- manding that the Gozo-Malta tunnel should pay for itself. No such argument has ever been made for the Marsa Junc- tion project, the Kappara Junction flyover, the Marsa-Hamrun bypass road widening, the Santa Venera tunnels, and all other major road projects. It is taken as given that these road pro- jects are necessary to ease traffic conges- tion and help contribute to improved eco- nomic activity. e same holds for a permanent link between the two islands, which will also enable commercial activity in Gozo to di- versify and create more jobs on the island. But the tunnel link is not the be all and end all for Gozo. For the island to flourish economically it needs to have a second and third fibre optic link to boost bandwidth – this has become more crucial now with the launch of the Gozo innovation hub. It needs to have a proper harbour in Mġarr that could take in more yachts and allow cruise liners to berth. It needs to have a fully functional gener- al hospital, which is why the government must press Steward Healthcare to get on with the project. Gozo is getting its own reverse osmosis at Ħondoq ir-Rummien but government should seriously explore how the island could have limited capacity to produce its own electricity through clean technology. All this will help make Gozo a contribu- tor to nationwide economic progress and encourage young Gozitans to continue liv- ing in their birthplace. Transforming Gozo

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