The social, economic and environmental implications of physically uniting Malta and Gozo

Abstract

In the late 1960s, there were plans to physically connect the Islands of Malta and Gozo by means of a bridge and Japanese engineers were called in to carry out a feasibility study. The project was considered technically possible but as the expense involved would have been considerable, the plan was shelved and many people in Malta and many others in Gozo breathed a sigh of relief. In this sense, the construction of a permanent link between mainland Malta and Gozo was and will always remain a subject of controversy especially in the light of the social, economical and environmental impacts that emanate from such a mammoth project. Many Maltese and Gozitans are of the opinion that should the Island of Gozo become too accessible, there is a real danger of the island losing the old-world charm that it has so far retained, and which Malta possessed and unfortunately lost some half a century ago. The Island of Gozo is different from the larger Island of Malta in many ways. It is more fertile, more picturesque and far more unspoilt. However, what really makes Gozo so markedly different from Malta, are the many Gozitans who have always defended Gozo’s identity as an island cut off from the mainland by sea. Faced with the problem of living in an island within a larger island however, the majority of Gozitans seem to have shifted with respect to their perceptions of a fixed link between the Maltese Islands. This dissertation describes and investigates the social, economic and environmental implications of geographically uniting the Maltese Islands by means of a permanently fixed link in the form of a bridge, an underwater tunnel or a small airstrip in Gozo. This study also takes into consideration various famous bridges and tunnels scattered around the world as well. The work in this dissertation is based on both primary and secondary sources as well as on information gathered through familiarization with the Maltese, Gozitans and foreigners alike. With regards to documentation, this work includes official reports from government bodies as well as other publications, survey reports and various local newspaper cuttings on the feasibility of constructing a bridge / an underwater tunnel / an airstrip or a link road between the Maltese Islands. Several questionnaires served to feel the pulse of the Maltese community and that of the foreigners, and to indicate amongst other things, the social and environmental implications of an eventual construction of a permanently fixed link between the Maltese Islands.