New plans for Marsaskala ferry quietly filed on same day Bonett throws taxpayer-funded bash

Infrastructure Malta, an agency which falls under the remit of Minister Chris Bonett, quietly filed new designs for the development of a public ferry landing in Marsaskala Bay – on the same day Bonett himself was busy attending an expensive inauguration for the locality’s “new” promenade, which remains mostly incomplete.

On Wednesday, Infrastructure Malta (IM) filed new block and site plans related to PA/6645/25, a hotly contested planning application to change the quay area near Triq is-Salini to a ferry landing waiting area.

In effect, the new plans confirm the Marsaskala Residents Network’s worst fears about the extensive dredging which will be required to ensure large ferry boats can safely moor near the site of the new landing area.

In April, the longstanding fight against the commercialisation of Marsaskala Bay returned to the headlines after Bonett was forced on the defensive on the back of a contentious decision by the environmental regulator.

Angry residents had taken umbrage at the Environment and Resources Authority’s (ERA) decision to waive the need for an environmental impact assessment, clearing out one more obstacle in the Infrastructure Minister’s plans to link Marsaskala to Valletta via a ferry link.

The new plans were uploaded to a planning application which currently remains listed as “suspended at the request of the applicant’s architect”, thereby escaping public attention while the Minister got busy inaugurating a half-finished promenade that cost taxpayers €18 million.

On Wednesday evening, the Infrastructure Minister was on the other side of Marsaskala’s promenade, with tens of thousands of euro in taxpayer cash spent on the inauguration of a strip of pavement that is barely 0.35km long – a far cry from the 1.5km of new paving that was originally promised last year.

Though the total costs for the lavish event are not yet known, The Shift can confirm that the inauguration included a full stage set up, live music and entertainment, several banners promoting IM, multiple security personnel wearing Signal 8 uniforms, several Transport Malta officials on-duty to “manage” traffic, and drinks being served to guests attending the celebrations.

Bonett is contesting the general elections on the third and fourth districts, which include Marsaskala among the towns in the list of his constituencies.

The latest publicity stunt is among several instances in which the minister used taxpayer funds to score political points, ranging from the Metro press conference on the eve of the Prime Minister’s official electoral announcement, to the widely-derided revamp of Buġibba square, to various announcements made in conjunction with parish churches in his districts.

Ironically, the Minister’s pompous celebrations of the promenade were particularly chaotic since pedestrians passing through were shoved off to the other side of the street, which is packed with tables and chairs placed on public land by restaurants in the area.

The rest of the promenade remains under construction – including the ferry landing area itself, despite the lack of any approved planning permits. Heavy machinery continues to dot the rest of the coastline.

The Infrastructure Minister has outright refused to respond to multiple FOI requests which sought to determine why the promenade project was parceled out through “emergency” direct orders through IM instead of a standard public procurement process.

Nonetheless, vigilant residents were quick to spot multiple heavy vehicles bearing the logos of contractors known to be close to the Prime Minister and the Labour Party at large, raising further questions about just how much the project cost.