Robert Abela says Marsaskala marina plans are scrapped

Plans to build a huge 700-yacht marina in Marsaskala Bay are being abandoned, Prime Minister Robert Abela said at a campaign rally in Marsaskala on Tuesday evening.

Abela said the project would be stopped immediately, following persistent protests of residents, the Labour-led local council and environmental NGOs.

The Labour leader, who lives in the locality, said he had listened to residents’ concerns.

“I understand that the beauty of this bay is to walk down the promenade and relax in the evenings. The fear was that the project would kill that”, Abela said.

Full u-turn following public pressure

Draft plans for a 700-yacht marina were made public in August when Transport Malta published a pre-qualification document that suggested the whole bay would be taken up by the project.

Since then, residents, fishermen and environmentalists have held regular protests against the proposal.

Last week, Health Minister Chris Fearne, who is contesting the election on the Marsaskala district, said that the undeveloped area around the bay should remain unchanged while the berthing area should be reorganised.

Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg suggested that public opposition to the plans was part of a Nationalist Party candidate’s election campaign, but eventually agreed with Fearne.

Grech: Marina ‘should not have been proposed’

Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech said during an event in St Julian’s that he would congratulate the Prime Minister if he canceled the project, but that it should not have been proposed in the first place.

Moviment Graffiti: ‘Pressure works’

The environmental NGO Moviment Graffiti said that pressure works, adding “if they even dream of another yacht marina – be it big, medium, or small – you’ll find us ready to fight it”.

_{Cover Photo: Partit Laburista}