NEWS | Wednesday, 11 March 2009

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James Debono
The Malta Transport Authority (ADT) has presented a planning application to upgrade the existing road at Ghadira, alongside two others to build the road over environmentally sensitive areas behind the Ghadira nature reserve managed by BirdLife.
Only one option will be chosen at the end of the process.
Three of the options include constructing a new route and tunnel beneath the garigue behind the Danish Village; building a bridge and new road behind the nature reserve; and upgrading the existing road.
A fourth option, soon to be presented, involves transforming a country lane into a full-blown road.
The upgrading of the existing road is also being opposed by BirdLife, who say that this options include passing part of the road connecting Ghadira to Cirkewwa through part of the Foresta 2000 woodland. “This is very similar to the option presented previously by (former) minister Jesmond Mugliett and it directly affects the part of Foresta 2000 planted by school children and environment minister George Pullicino in 2007,” BirdLife director Tolga Temuge said.
One of four options on the controversial Ghadira road is an upgrading of the existing road that is also being opposed by BirdLife Malta.
The transport ministry says that just upgrading the existing road would retain the current route, but bring it to the standard of a highway.
This would require the reconstruction of the road and its junctions.
Minister Austin Gatt has now passed the buck onto MEPA to determine which of the four different planning applications will have the least negative environmental impact.
“The route that will be chosen will be the one found to be the most environmentally desirable of all possible options”, a ministry spokesperson told MaltaToday.
But BirdLife insists that before presenting the applications, the government should have proven its case that removing the existing road was necessary to save the beach from erosion.
“So far we have seen no scientific evidence on the need to replace the road with options passing through Natura 2000 sites,” Temuge said.
Birdlife will be presenting objections to all three applications.
The ADT will be presenting another application shortly. “These three applications and a fourth one which is presently being finalised cover the entire range of options to connecting Cirkewwa and Mellieha,” the ministry said.
So far no environmental consultants have been appointed to conduct the necessary environmental studies. An environmental consultant will only be appointed when MEPA draws up the terms of reference on which these studies are to be conducted.

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