Labour says PN metro proposal based on government\u2019s 'discarded' 2023 presentation<\/p>\n
The Labour Party has accused the Nationalist Party of basing its metro proposal on a 2023 presentation previously discarded by the government, arguing that the Opposition had failed to produce technical studies backing its plans.<\/p>\n
In a statement Tuesday, the PL referred to a report by MaltaToday which revealed details from a confidential 2023 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report that envisaged a fully feasible and operational underground metro network within five years.<\/p>\n
The confidential document, titled ‘Project Hestia,’ estimated that three metro lines – Red, Blue and Green – with a network length of 29km would be developed in 5.3 years.<\/p>\n
The three underground routes, which covered the central-eastern regions, were defined by Infrastructure Malta and based on population and workplace density.<\/p>\n
In a statement Tuesday, the Labour party said that had confirmed it “has not conducted any studies” regarding its transport proposal and instead based its plans on a presentation “discarded by the government in 2023 after further advice and considerations from experts.”<\/p>\n
It said that the “desktop exercise” had been provided by PwC to the Transport Minister on 19 May 2023 and primarily discussed a “financial model” and “financial assumptions” related to the metro project and how it could generate returns on the concession.<\/p>\n
Labour said this showed that “the Opposition did not have and does not have any technical reports like those the government presented a few weeks ago.”<\/p>\n
The party added that the same presentation indicated that the proposal would raise Malta’s debt to 76% of national wealth and increase the deficit to 8.2%, “almost three times the deficit accepted by the Commission.”<\/p>\n
“In fact, this was the reason why the government had to scale down the project to make it feasible and viable,” the statement said.<\/p>\n
The party also said that the presentation “was not prepared by an engineering firm but by an audit firm,” adding that the report itself referred to “illustrative financial projections.”<\/p>\n
The statement further said the full report contradicted the PN’s proposed five-year timeline, arguing that it “leaves insufficient time for planning permits, environmental permits, and procurement processes.”<\/p>\n
Labour added that the PwC presentation described the proposal as being in a “preliminary stage” and warned of “risks and uncertainties” related to geology and permitting processes.<\/p>\n
“If the Nationalist Party wants to be credible, it should publish its studies that it claims to have conducted instead of copying a presentation that was discarded by the government,” the statement said.<\/p>\n
“Once again, the Nationalist Party copied and copied badly. It demonstrated its irresponsibility and incompetence,” the PL said.<\/p>\n