Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1332685
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 JANUARY 2021 INTERVIEW 'Doing nothing' is not an option You have a reputation as 'min- ister for roads'; now, however, you seem keen on carving out a reputation as 'the minister of flyovers'… despite all the flak and criticism these projects are attracting… Flyovers attract criticism, yes; but they are also bringing about a positive change in people's quality of life. This what I hear from people who are experienc- ing projects such as the Kap- para flyover; and now, also the Marsa junction. There are other challenges, however. Those are not the only interventions we have planned. We have to continue with the strategic plan for the country, agreed to also by the European Commission, to intervene in other areas as well: including Msida, which is a critical con- gestion zone. Everything has its price how- ever. In the case of the Mriehel flyover, it seems that the pro- ject was kept 'hush-hush'. In the end it had to be the farmers to sound the alarm… That is what the critics of the projects said. The reality, how- ever, is that farmers got to know because Infrastructure Malta sent for them, and told them about the plans which had been submitted to the PA six months earlier. It was anything but 'hush hush'. I repeat: the Mrie- hel flyover had been agreed, since the time of the previous minister, with the European Commission, in the strategic plan for important infrastruc- tural projects… All the same, there is a percep- tion that these projects are on- ly intended to favour big busi- nesses. Is it a coincidence that there are two controversial high-projects in the Mriehel area, owned by the Gasan and Tumas Groups? I won't mention names; but there is also another important factory in Mriehel, which em- ploys a significant number of people. Right now, its application for an extension in hanging in the balance, because of the lack of suitable access to Mriehel. There is also another permit being implemented in the area – of another company, but not the ones you mentioned - which depends specifically on that junction being finalised… Which company are you refer- ring to? That is something you can do your research about, and find out. But it's an important, long-established company, in the same area, and one of the permit conditions is that the Mriehel junction has to be com- pleted. But it has nothing to do with the towers you mentioned. Besides, anyone who is famil- iar with that area will know that, to access the Gasan and Tumas high-rise developments, you need to approach from the oth- er side of Mirehel… not from where the junction is planned. It also bears mentioning that there are separate works going on in the same area, on the side of Fleur de Lys: all aimed at im- proving access… Meanwhile, the Mriehel flyo- ver project – like the Central Link project before it – has come in for a lot of criticism: among others, by former PM Alfred Sant, and former Pres- ident Marie Loise Coleiro Pre- ca. Don't you think these two Labour heavyweights have a point in criticising the project? If we measure the Mriehel project using the same yard- stick as the Central Link… I hope the outcome will be the same, too. In the Central Link case, the resistance consisted of around 3,000 people, who made as much noise as they could – and they had every right to make their voices heard; I was pleased to see their commit- ment. And thanks to the argu- ments they raised, we changed and improved the plans a num- ber of times… including to safe- guard trees in the area. Not only did we not uproot the existing trees, but we actually added new ones. Today, I take satisfaction from the fact that many people send me messages, telling me that they no longer waste half an hour stuck in traffic in Attard; they are saving time, fuel, and also sparing themselves noxious fumes… What about the criticism by Sant and Coleiro Preca, though? I have the greatest respect, both for Her Excellency the for- mer President, and for ex-La- bour leader Alfred Sant. I am convinced that their comments are genuine; and yes, we will continue to improve the pro- ject, including the plan that have already been submitted. But 'doing nothing' is not an option. Don't tell me that, every time you pass through the Mrie- hel bypass, you don't get frus- trated to see all those vehicles cutting across from side-roads. Yet the suggestion of several people was: divert them onto the Central Link… so that, in- stead of turning onto the Mrie- hel by-pass from the industrial estate, they would have to go all the way round, past Mount Carmel Hospital, and come to Mriehel from the other side. And these include people who His admirers have dubbed him 'King of the Roads'; his detractors use various other, less f lattering epithets. But Transport and Infrastructure Minister IAN BORG insists that his controversial road projects are necessary for the country to move forward PHOTO: JAMES BIANCHI / MALTATODAY