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6 News maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2013 Gozo airstrip back on Lab JAMES DEBONO WHILE before the general election Joseph Muscat declared that an airstrip in Gozo will not be a "priority" for the Labour government, a spokesperson for Gozo Minister Anton Refalo confirmed that the development of an airstrip is being actively considered. During a pre-electoral visit to Gozo on 16 February, Muscat declared that an airstrip was not a priority for the Party, but that a helicopter service, along with a fast ferry service between Mgarr and Valletta, would be considered. But on 11 October of this year, ETC board chairman Alfred Grixti announced that discussions with an Italian company had started on an airlink between Malta, Gozo and Sicily. The announcement was made during an ETC board meeting held in Gozo in the presence of Gozo Minister Anton Refalo. A spokesperson for Gozo Minister confirmed that while no final decision has been taken however "all options are under consideration, including that of an airstrip". "Any course of action will be undertaken with the full involve- One major obstacle to the project is the presence of archeological remains in the vicinity of Ta' Lambert, the site identified for the project since the mid-90s ment of all stakeholders, including the public in general, with the final aim being that of overcoming the constraints that have limited the socio-economic develop- ment of Gozo," the spokesperson said. Stopping the application for the Gozo airstrip was one of Alfred Sant's first decisions as prime minister in 1996, after withdrawing the country from NATO's Partnership for Peace programme and freezing EU membership. After being dropped by Sant, the project was abandoned by Eddie Fenech Adami in 1998. While not excluding the project completely, former tourism and environment minister Mario de Marco raised doubts on its sustainability. "One also needs to consider whether an airstrip in Gozo and enhanced accessibility can actually impact negatively the perception of the island that lures tourists to it," de Marco told MaltaToday in 2010. The writing was already on the wall when in February 2010 Roderick Galdes – then shadow minister for planning – had already announced that the development of an airstrip is one of the options a Labour government would consider to ensure better connectivity between Malta and Gozo. But following criticism, subsequently the party backtracked on its plans after environmental NGOs and Labour MP Justyne Caruana reiterated their opposition to the proposal. One major obstacle to the project is the presence of archeological remains in the vicinity of Ta' Lambert, the site identified for the project since the mid-90s. These remains have been compromised by illegal dumping. According to a study by the Museums Department, in the mid-90s, an archaeological assessment of 79-city survey Level of cultural sat JAMES DEBONO VALLETTA (37%) is the only city of 79 European cities where fewer than 50% of respondents say that they are satisfied with their city's cultural facilities. Valletta also emerges as the only EU capital city where less than a majority of respondents say they are satisfied with their cultural facilities, a category which includes theaters, museums, concert halls and libraries. In all 10 EU capitals, the level of satisfaction with their cultural facilities is higher than 80%. This emerges from a Eurobarometer survey conducted in December 2012, which was published last week. The survey was conducted among 503 residents hailing from the north and south harbour regions of Malta. Valletta is also one of 11 cities where fewer than half of respondents said they were satisfied with public transport in their city. Only 37% were satisfied with public transport in Valletta. Level of satisfaction was also low in Roma (32%), Naples (23%) and Palermo (14%). Satisfaction regarding the state of streets and buildings in respondents' neighbourhoods is low in many EU capitals. Valletta is one of eleven EU capitals namely Athens, Rome, Sofia, Bucharest, Lisbon, Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn, Valletta, Bratislava and Madrid, which rank among the 20 least satisfied cities. Air quality is also a cause of dissatisfaction in Valletta. In fact, air quality is the most According to the Eurobarometer survey, 58% of Maltese residents believe Valletta is improved by the presence of foreigners important issue for 52% of residents. This makes air quality the top concern of the residents living in the north and south harbour regions. In 58 cities, a majority of respondents are satisfied with air quality, and in 19 of these cities the level of satisfaction is at least 80%. Satisfaction is highest in Rostock (95%), Newcastle and Groningen (both 90%).

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