Transport Minister Austin Gatt said that the Għadira Road’s exclusion was not because of a change of heart, but because government was still waiting for the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to issue terms of reference of the Environmental Impact Assessment, and because there was a tight deadline for the application of funds.

The proposed road’s environmental impact has been a source of controversy, with environmental NGOs insisting that the road would threaten the Għadira nature reserve and the Foresta 2000 grove. Dr Gatt, on the other hand, said that the existing road was causing beach erosion, a situation which occurred in Balluta and Xlendi in the past.

Dr Gatt said that the ministry commissioned its own study, a report drawn up by British expert Kenneth Pye. The study states that the existing road does, in fact, threaten the bay, and that its removal would allow the natural beach formation process to continue undisturbed.

Once all studies are concluded, the road will be build using state funds, the minister said.

The EU funds will thus be allocated to upgrading the Kappara junction, a project for which MEPA permits are already at hand. The project includes the construction of a flyover crossing the Kappara roundabout, a structural upgrade of the interchange, repairs to the Ġuże’ Ellul Mercer bridge and the construction of an underpass to allow for pedestrian crossings.

It is expected to cost €25 million, and works are scheduled to commence in 2011.

In a brief statement, Alternattiva Demokratika said that it welcomed the temporary shelving of the project, and hoped that if it is reconsidered both the beach and the Nature Reserve are protected.

The Labour Party also reacted to the news, lamenting that the government had not heeded the advice of the Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat a year ago and shelved the project in favour of Kappara Junction.

"If the government had taken this advice, the Kappara Junction project would either have already started or would be about to start," the party said.

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