Gozo Business Chamber welcomes fast ferry service

Provisions made by the Government to provide landing places at Valletta and Mġarr Harbour for a fast ferry service have been welcomed by the Gozo Business Chamber (GBC), who said it will ensure further accessibility for Gozo.

In a statement released on Monday, the Gozitan business lobby said that it “notes with satisfaction the positive developments relating to … the provision of a fast ferry service by means of a passenger High Speed Craft between the Grand Harbour in Valletta, and the Mġarr Harbour in Gozo.”

The landings are to cost the Government €5 million and are expected to be complete by the end of May.

Operators may start offering the service as of 1st June of this year.

The GBC said that the liberalisation of the market for this service should ensure further accessibility for Gozo providing commuters, visitors and people attending meetings in Malta and in Gozo an alternative viable option, reducing travel time between the two islands for persons using this type of service.

The announcement by the Government last week brought to a close a long-running saga where the tender for the provision of the fast ferry service was revoked by the Public Contracts Review Tribunal, then re-issued as a hop-on hop-off service.

The matter has been resolved by liberalising the market, with no exclusivity in ferry operation.