Design & Build 02 | Page 21

Design 1. the country is going to depend eco- nomically on a continual growth in population because otherwise we will no longer remain competitive and sustainable; 2. we are going to need to continue to attract more tourists, even in the light of plans to build hotels of a higher standard than we have at the moment; and In order to bridge the gap between the planning process and actual implementation, people with the required experience are needed to work with the academically qualified. One must note that there is a huge divide between the planning process and the actual implementation, and people with the required experience are needed to work with others who are academically qualified. One also needs to be able to communicate ef- fectively the aims for such a plan and how it could be reached. In order to implement a comprehen- sive master plan like the one for Pace- ville, a hard-working core group, hav- ing the necessary experience and skill set and one which will be adequately remunerated, needs to be appointed. One of the things that saddens me is that many state board members, who are instrumental in taking decisions on which the country’s continuing success depends, are insufficiently paid. There is a limit as to how much a person can contribute for such trifling amounts. A major challenge the country faces at the moment is traffic manage- DESIGN&BUILD ment, which needs to be tackled without any further delay. We are facing a situation where: the country is going to depend economically on a continual growth in population 3. we are going to have even greater traffic congestion than we already have if all this is going to come about. This must be a priority because if the traffic situation is not re- solved in the next decade, it will suffocate us and the government would have failed the people in this respect. The infrastructure investment re- quired in order to accommodate major projects must be funded by the project owners themselves. In- frastructure is essential to the via- bility and profitability of these big projects, so we cannot continue to expect the taxpayer to fund this in- frastructural investment. Courageous decisions need to be taken soon if we want to improve the quality of life in Malta - whether it is the building of a tunnel linking Malta and Gozo, or a system of rail transport above or below ground. We need to establish national pri- orities and these have to take prece- dence over specific site peculiarities. Above all I urge everyone to realise that common sense should prevail. Q1, 2017 19