Ambitious plans by the Maltese government to construct a metro system are about to move on to the next stage, with Transport Minister Ian Borg confirming that studies have reached an advanced stage and that a public consultation process will soon be launched.

“The reports related to a mass transport are at an advanced stage,” Borg confirmed with TVM. “I’ve had the chance to speak to the Prime Minister in brief about it and I’m convinced we’ll have time to come up with a detailed presentation before moving on to the launch of a public consultation stage.”

While Borg’s statement may sound encouraging to advocates of a metro, former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had also said studies had reached an advanced stage back in March 2019.

The Malta Chamber of Commerce recently urged the government to scrap its plans for a vehicular tunnel between Malta and Gozo and instead incorporate a metro link between the two islands as part of its mass transport plans.

However, the Gozo Chamber of Commerce responded that the two projects should complement and not compete against other, arguing that a tunnel can be built in a much shorter period of time than a metro.

Borg confirmed yesterday that the tunnel still plans to construct the Malta-Gozo tunnel, noting that the promise formed part of the Labour Party’s electoral manifesto.

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