Lack Of Proper Marsaskala Marina Impact Assessment Unacceptable, PN Says As Plans Elicit Outrage
A proper impact assessment should have been carried out before a tender for the construction of a yacht marina in Marsaskala was issued, the Nationalist Party said on Saturday.
A tender for the construction of the marina was issued yesterday by Transport Malta and has been met with outrage from residents and environmental activists.
Addressing a press conference earlier today, PN chief spokesperson Peter Agius said that while the PN supported efforts to increase investment in the south of Malta, residents had a right to assurance that their quality of life would deteriorate as a result of it.
He said it was unacceptable that a tender was being issued when residents had yet not been consulted.
Reacting to the tender yesterday, Moviment Graffitti said the project would choke Marsaskala.
“This project is excessive and will take up a lot of space used by the public,” Graffiti said, noting that the same was happening in Kalkara.
The group questioned the need for the project as well as the rationale behind not updating the country’s 2006 local plans to reflect the present situation.
Moviment Graffitti warned that the development of the marina would involve considerable dredging and would reduce water currents necessary to give the bay life.
“These projects are not in the public interest but in the interest of certain businessmen who want to thrive without respecting the community they are a part of.
“We cannot keep greenlighting projects that cause great social and environmental damage, and which are unsustainable, especially in light of the threat posed by climate change.”
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