China Communications Construction provides a €4 million EUR grant for feasibility study for a bridge between Malta and Gozo

Project narrative

On June 14, 2013, China Communications Construction Co., Ltd. (CCCC) entered into a memorandum of understanding agreement with the Government of Malta in which CCCC would finance a €4 million EUR feasibility study for a bridge between Malta and Gozo, the two main islands of Malta. The study was known as the Feasibility Study for Malta - Gozo Link. The Chinese Government was the impetus behind the offer. The study would be conducted by CCCC and was expected to take 15 months, and came with no obligation to contract CCCC if the Government of Malta proceeded with the bridge. The feasibility study's awarding was criticized, with Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat asked in Parliament by Nationalist Member of Parliament George Pullicino whether the government had conducted a due diligence report on CCCC, to which Muscat gave a vague answer citing that the discussions were conducted between the two governments. CCCC's debarment by the World Bank in 2011 was highlighted when the study was announced. The study itself was the source of some concern, with the Gozitan University Students organization (GUG) showed concern for a bridge (or tunnel) between Malta and Gozo due to economical and environmental effects and potential social and cultural effects, and local environmentalist worried over the changes to the visual landscape of the islands. The study began in March 2014 before the arrangement on funding in June 2013. In July 2013, during Muscat's visit to China, he requested CCCC spend more resources to make the project environmentally sustainable. The study was finished in March 2014. The study proposed a €800 million EUR cost and recommended a fixed bridge between Gozo and Malta, with different design options, CCCC specifically recommending a 8.8-kilometer long single two-lane carriageway and two motorcycle lane beginning at the southeast of Gozo crossing the channel along the east of Comino to land at the north tip of Malta and connect to Marfa Road via local roads. CCCC proposed several paths forward involving it designing and constructing the project with the use of Chinese labor and construction equipment as well as options for the financing, operation, and management of the bridge with toll roads with CCCC running a concession, albeit with a minimum traffic volume guarantee (another proposal involved the Maltese government giving land to CCCC of "equivalent value" for development if the government could not afford to repurchase the bridge). The bridge would replace the 25-minute ferry rode. The study claimed as the two largest islands of Malta, ferries would be replaced and economic development between the two would greatly improve economic development, improve tourism, lead to further taxes and revenue for the government, create jobs, and serve as a symbol of Malta-China relations. The study proposed that the a bridge with a design life of 100 years that could open to 2020. The study did note expect loss of marine habitant and possible water quality deterioration from pier dredging, construction site run-off, wastewater, accidental spillage of works’ site chemicals The project never proceeded, and plans for a Malta-Gozo Tunnel in lieu of the bridge were also shelved in October 2022.