Works at the Citadel go on despite promised summer break

Despite the government’s announcement last week of Break Time, an initiative aimed at stopping construction and excavation works in tourist areas during the summer months, works are currently in full swing at the Citadel in Victoria, Gozo.

Pictures show the extent of works being carried out at a time when the touristic season is at its peak with thousands of tourists crossing the channel every day to visit the island of Gozo which is often promoted by tour operators as the island where time stands still and as an island of peace and tranquillity.

In reaction to the reports, tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis said that while the Break Time initiative is a step in the right direction to minimise building and excavation works in tourist areas, the works at the Citadel in Gozo are part of an EU funded scheme with a deadline for completion that has to be respected.

Opposition MP Robert Arrigo insisted that if these works are not stopped, they will have long term repercussions on the tourism industry.

He pointed that at present, tourists travelling from the Sliema and Saint Julian’s area to Gozo through the Coast Road, are seeing nothing but road and construction works all the way to the sister island.

Arrigo also pointed out the summer season is the costliest time for tourists to visit our islands.

Read more in today’s edition of Illum