Qala Creek project & regional airport an Eco-Gozo concept?

Published on www.gozonews.com on Sunday 10th October, 2010 by James A. Tyyrrel.

I was reading the article by Alan Deidun entitled “Rising phenomena ODZ parties” that appeared in the Times on Sunday, 3rd October 2010. He refers to an article by Raymond Xerri entitled Gozo as an Ecological Island – Some Proposals, that appeared in The Gozo Observer (No.18) – June 2008. Some of the proposals made by Raymond Xerri struck Alan Deidun as strange and they certainly struck me as strange too.

For example, Raymond Xerri states and I quote; “Gozo urgently needs an economic stimulus to reduce the higher unemployment levels and halt the constant need for migration to Malta and abroad. This can be achieved first and foremost through the creation of a regional airport between Xewkija and Ghajnsielem and attracting regional and low cost airlines to the island.” Raymond we keep hearing the same thing that an airport or a big new hotel is going to solve all the unemployment issues but we know from past experience this is not the case. Isn’t it a fact Raymond that a great many of hotel and restaurant workers in Gozo are foreigners rather than locals? And again, are jobs as chambermaids and waiters all we aspire to offer Gozitan graduates? If only all the energy spent on promoting an airport in Gozo had been spent on promoting service industries to set up there, (instead of being hijacked by Malta even when they were destined for Gozo), by now we might have been able to offer Gozitan youths a real future in Gozo.

Raymond Xerri further states, “Besides the Mgarr Port yachting sector another port should be identified to cater for the growing demand from the yachting industry for more berthing space _ the Qala Creek project is an option.” I assume Raymond that by the “yachting industry” you are not taking into account the many local boat owners who are being forced out of their berths at Mgarr by increased charges set by the arrogant new management, ignoring Gozitan boat owners’ rights? If extra berths are needed then the obvious place for them is Mgarr, which is already established as a marina, not in a pristine area like Hondoq.

Now whilst I found the vast majority of the points raised by Raymond Xerri made a lot of sense in the context of an Eco-Gozo concept I find the above two points rather fly in the face of any such concept. Perhaps Raymond Xerri would be good enough to tell the Gozitan people and in particular his own people in Qala just how these two proposals fit into any Eco-Gozo idea. Could he also explain how he came to the conclusion that a “regional airport” would be good for Gozo? Copies of any reports or feasibility studies he has referred to in coming to his conclusions will of course be useful

Furthermore it would be interesting to hear from Dr. Xerri why after expressing these views in favour of an airport and of the Qala Creek project in June 2008, on 30th September 2009 he went on to sign a declaration by the local council in Qala stating that he was against any such marina at Hondoq. I look forward to hearing from the good doctor about this sudden change of heart and where his weathervane convictions now stand.

To view the comments, go to http://gozonews.com/14972/qala-creek-project-regional-airport-an-eco-gozo-concept/