Opened but not ready: Gozo’s €7m facility still under construction six months after inauguration

A large park and ride project next to the Gozo racecourse in Ta’ Xhajma, in Xewkija, Gozo, was inaugurated six months ago by Prime Minister Robert Abela, but only a few currently use the €7 million facility as the project is far from complete, with heavy machinery and construction workers still on-site daily.

It is unclear whether health and safety authorities have approved the facility’s use, as the project is still far from completion. Gozitan users of the facility have told The Shift that only a small portion of the originally planned 300 parking spaces are currently available, as most of the Park and Ride is still under heavy construction.

Sources indicate that the rushed opening of the facility was driven by concerns over potentially losing EU funding due to significant delays in its completion.

Photos of the ‘inaugurated’ facility reveal that large areas of the parking lot have not yet been asphalted, heavy machinery is still present near commuters, and the promised green roof, intended to serve as an open space atop the facility, has yet to be realised.

Initially announced in 2018 by then-Minister Justyne Caruana, the project encountered issues right from the start when excavation works were carried out without a permit.

In 2017, a questionable tender to purchase six electric buses for the project was awarded to TUM Invest, owned by Ninu Fenech and his sons. Yet, the buses remained idle in a garage for years.

Although the Planning Authority issued its permit in 2019, the project has been at a complete standstill, with a large hole dug in the ground sitting abandoned for years.

Following a change in the Gozo Ministry and the potential loss of 80% of EU funding for the project, the newly appointed Minister, Clint Camilleri, immediately pushed for the commencement of construction, which needed to be completed by the end of 2023. Still, the timelines were not met.

The latest decision has been made to begin operating the car park facility in a partially completed state to give the EU the impression that the project was complete.

The Park and Ride facility is intended for use by ferry commuters, allowing them to park in the area and be transported directly to the Mġarr ferry terminal.