Infrastructure Minister on the defensive after impact assessment waiver for Marsaskala ferry

Infrastructure Minister Chris Bonett has been at pains to push back against mounting criticism of the government’s €18 million promenade regeneration project in Marsaskala, deflecting criticism by claiming that the Nationalist Party is doing whatever it can to stop the government from finishing the project – all while failing to answer basic questions about the project itself.

The latest bone of contention in relation to the ongoing regeneration works, which have been characterised by an information blackout on some of the most basic aspects of the project since it was first formally announced in September last year, revolves around the Environment and Resources Authority’s (ERA) decision to issue a waiver for an environmental impact assessment.

Environmental impact assessments are typically required for major projects that may cause significant environmental damage.

Though the project in question involves dredging 4,700 cubic metres of seabed that is home to protected plant species essential for oxygenating marine life, the ERA claims that the project’s impact is not significant enough to warrant an assessment.

The environmental regulator staked its claim on the basis that the bay is already affected by human activity, noting that larger meadows of protected plant species are located outside of the project’s area of operations.

The ERA also argued that the disturbances which are set to be caused by the infrastructural works which will be required for the ferry’s landing area will be temporary and limited largely to the construction phase, further downplaying the significance of the project’s impact.

In a press statement, the Marsaskala Residents’ Network (MRN) rejected the ERA’s assessment, noting that the Authority partly justified its position by citing a scrapped policy that designated Marsaskala Bay as a yacht marina.

Besides citing other technical issues, such as the methodology used to gauge the potential impact on seawater quality and the omission of the bay’s status as a popular recreational zone for the local community, MRN also emphasised the potentially devastating impact on around 1,500 square metres of Posidonia oceanica meadows.

“This is a strictly protected species and habitat under the EU Habitats Directive and Maltese environmental legislation, and any damage or disturbance is subject to strict regulation,” according to the statement.

“Other ecologically important species have also been identified in the bay, including Cymodocea nodosa and the protected gastropod Tonna galea. The fact that these are located outside the immediate dredging area does not exclude indirect impacts, particularly if water quality deteriorates due to turbidity and contamination,” the statement adds.

In additional comments shared with The Shift, the MRN noted that the ERA’s decision cannot be taken as proof that legal and environmental obligations are being upheld, especially given concerns about impacts on protected species.

The ERA is only the latest Authority to turn a blind eye to the Infrastructure Minister’s increasingly long list of indiscretions.

Previously, The Shift reported on the lack of planning approval for works related to the promenade’s refurbishment, the ministry’s blatant refusal to comply with the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act by ignoring formal requests for relevant documentation, and the ministry’s refusal to engage directly with residents’ groups and activists seeking more information about the project’s size and scope.

Predictably, the build up of tension ahead of the upcoming general elections has spurred a political tit-for-tat about the promenade’s regeneration.

After Nationalist Party MEP Peter Agius published a reel on social media in which he accused the government of breaching European law on impact assessments and failing to listen to residents’ concerns, Chris Bonett felt compelled to publish a response.

“Yesterday, we were honoured with the presence of Nationalist Party MEP Peter Agius, who decided to come to Marsaskala. I hope he didn’t accidentally take any wrong turns on his way here, because around here, it’s very difficult to see any members of the Nationalist Party. But at least, he came,” Bonett taunts in his video.

“He came here, gathered a very small group of people, maybe three to four people, so they could, as usual, talk negatively about an infrastructure project being carried out by the government,” Bonett continues, later repeating the claim that the Nationalist Party was opposing the project simply because it was being carried out by a Labour administration.

The Infrastructure Minister then goes on to argue that an investigation carried out by Planning Commissioner Alan Saliba on behalf of the Ombudsman’s Office had confirmed that “everything (in the regeneration project) was done according to law” and that the ERA’s impact assessment waiver was issued in line with European legislation.

In a brief email sent to the complainants, MRN, Saliba said the works carried out by Infrastructure Malta’s contractors were “required urgently to eliminate danger to the public” and that “these works follow procedures as established by law under the Planning, Transport, Environment, and Cultural Heritage Acts”.

“To this effect, this Office finds that Infrastructure Malta acted correctly and followed the established procedures,” the email concludes.

However, the Planning Commissioner failed to explain how his conclusions were drawn and did not provide further information to the complainants when they requested more details about the dangers cited to justify circumventing standard planning protocols for this project.

“While it is being stated that procedures were followed, this claim relies on the Ombudsman’s conclusion, which was issued without providing the evidence on which it was based… invoking procedural compliance without transparency on how that conclusion was reached does little to inspire public confidence,” the MRN noted when asked to confirm whether Saliba had ever disclosed more information.

“If everything is indeed in order, there should be no reluctance from the ministry and other relevant authorities to respond to the numerous Freedom of Information requests submitted. Any continued reluctance or delay in responding to such requests, particularly when they seek clarity on decision-making and transparency, risks creating the perception of unnecessary resistance to legitimate scrutiny,” a spokesperson for the MRN added.

In his video, the Infrastructure Minister repeatedly argued that mounting criticism about the project’s opaqueness was all an attempt to throw a spanner in the works of the governing party.

Pointing his fingers towards the Nationalist Party, Bonett added that “they (the PN) would have left this locality in the state of abandonment that we had gotten used to seeing.”

What Bonett conveniently failed to mention was that it was the government that had withdrawn extremely unpopular plans to convert Marsaskala Bay into a yacht marina, with local councillors elected on the Nationalist Party’s ticket fighting tooth and nail alongside civil society activists and residents for the plans to be scrapped.