Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/598356
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 2015 4 News Bidders mulling 10km monorail for Valletta transport project MATTHEW VELLA A request for proposals from Projects Malta for the design, build and operation of 'alternative trans- port links' within the Grand Har- bour and Marsamxett areas has been met with an ambitious sug- gestion for a monorail system. The project was mulled in clari- fications requested by an uniden- tified bidder from Projects Malta, which facilitates public-private partnerships on behalf of the gov- ernment. It is also the first hint at a pri- vate effort towards proposing the monorail, a project that since 2013 has been mooted by the La- bour administration as an exam- ple of the "modal shift" in public transportation needed to reduce car traffic congestion. According to the monorail pro- posal, the unidentified party asked Projects Malta whether it would consider a land-based, elevat- ed two-directional eight-seater monobeam "rapid transit system" extending over 10km with a jour- ney time of 10 minutes. Projects Malta said it would con- sider all proposals, including the monorail, as long as all criteria set out in the request for proposals (RFP) are met. In fact, the RFP, issued on 28 August, had its deadline extended from 30 October to the 20 No- vember after requests by the pro- ponents to submit the detailed designs for the transport system which must also outline transit and landing points, heritage build- ings above or underground, any underground tunnels, and data on patronage levels. But the proponents are also suggesting that they will present drawings of underground services, as well as presenting an extended version of the monorail going as far as Malta International Airport, and also stopping at the University of Malta and either Tigné Point or the Balluta area in St Julian's. Projects Malta has told propo- nents that no public subsidies or subventions will be provided and all proposals are expected to en- sure their sustainability through their own internally generated income. The concession would be lim- ited by any restrictions from the service contract between Trans- port Malta and the Marsamxetto Steamferry Services, which oper- ate a ferry service in the Grand Harbour: the latter company is owned by the Bianchi and Zam- mit Tabona groups, top names in the tourism and transportation business. Additionally, the concession could include a 65-year emphy- teusis of any immovable property forming part of the proposal. €1.42 billion funding proposal Malta submitted a list of potential projects for the European Invest- ment Initiative, which included the construction of a monorail project involving over-ground and under- ground lines. The estimated cost was of €1.42 billion, according to a Maltese task force led by Alfred Mifsud, now dep- uty governor of the Central Bank. Malta told the EC that the mono- rail would be the "ultimate solution" for urban mobility. "This will bring a cataclysmic change to the daily commute, making public transport the preferred means of urban trans- port, generating efficiency and eco- nomic growth as people will spend less time wasted in traffic conges- tions." According to estimates from Transport Malta, a 79-km service was tagged at €1.42 billion. Malta is the country with the high- est population density in the EU, with a population density average of 1,325 persons per sq. km. compared to the EU average 117 persons per sq. km. In the northern harbour area density shoots up to 5,015 persons per sq. km. According to data collated by Transport Malta, the annual aver- age daily traffic between Sliema and Ta' Xbiex alone is of 10,400 passen- ger car units – where one private car is equivalent to one unit, and one heavy vehicle is equivalent to two units. Castille's new lights approved in a day JAMES DEBONO THE Malta Environment and Planning Authority approved the installation of an LED light- ing system for the Auberge de Castille, St James Cavalier and the Malta Stock Exchange in just one day through the fast- track Development Notification Order (DNO) system after clear- ance was issued by the Superin- tendence for Cultural Heritage. By law, MEPA cannot issue permits through the DNO pro- cedure for works which result in direct or indirect damage to historic buildings. But the installation of the new lighting system required the drilling of circular holes up to five centimetres in diameter that puncture various cornices to make room for the new wir- ing system. Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation chairman Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi presented the application on 30 September. The application was validated by MEPA on 2 October and ap- proved on the same day. A MEPA spokesperson told MaltaToday that the applica- tion was endorsed by the Super- intendent of Cultural Heritage (SCH) and foresaw monitoring by the same official body. The Superintendence has not re- plied to MaltaToday's questions about its role in the approval of the controversial lighting sys- tem. The Development Notification Order (DNO) is a legal notice that exempts a range of general- ly minor developments ¬– such as minor alterations to buildings – from full development permit application procedures, if these satisfy certain criteria. While some developments such as the internal alterations in urban areas do not even re- quire a notification, most de- velopments located outside de- velopment schemes and urban conservation areas require the presentation of plans to the Au- thority through a "notification". According to planning regula- tions a "notification" is required for the lighting of buildings and streets located in urban conser- vation areas and any lighting within 30 metres of scheduled property. While the application for the LED lighting system on the his- torically sensitive Auberge de Castille and two other neigh- bouring historical buildings, was processed in a day, an ap- plication to install a PV panel on a house in Luqa validated on the same day, took more than a month to process. It took MEPA three weeks to approve a washroom in Attard and nearly a month to approve internal alternations in a town- house in Zabbar. And it took MEPA five days to approve an application for the erection of a bicycle rack at Lascaris ditch by the same Grand Harbour Regen- eration Corporation, presented on the same day. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD The Marsamxett ferry already operates connection points between Sliema and Valletta; the monorail proposal mooted made mention of two eight-seater cars (left) Fairly large holes were drilled into the stonework of the Auberge de Castille in installing an LED lighting system