The decision to stop the Marsascala marina is permanent, said Prime Minister Robert Abela, going on to say that the government has no intention of reviving plans in any way in the future.
He told journalists that the reorganisation of the moorings will not in any way create a smaller, reductive marina. Abela said that, being a resident there as well, he heard the people’s calls and understood their fear of having hitter recreational spaces taken away.
The U-turn was announced during a Labour rally on Tuesday evening in the same locality. Abela said the project would be stopped at once following several protests by residents and activists which kicked off in August.
This is when Transport Malta first published a pre-qualification document that suggested most of the bay would be taken up by pontoons and yacht facilities. Despite the U-turn, the Nationalist Party expressed its doubt at the U-turn actually being permanent.
In a press conference, candidates Robert Cutajar, Janice Chetcuti and John Baptist Camilleri highlighted how the u-turn proved the PN to be right all along. Cutajar said that the PN is not against growth, but this must be done sustainably and not to the detriment of the environment.
On their part, the ADPD said that the government’s decision to scrap the plans was a voting-catching exercise. ‘Had your vote not been on the line do you think the governing party would have taken the right decision for the area when their track record of developing and clearing green spaces, nature and trees is apparent across the whole country?’ formally asked chairperson Carmel Cacopardo.
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