Transport Malta to be divided into three authorities

Independent authorities will be set up to manage the aviation, maritime and land sectors, which will replace Transport Malta as we know it today, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg said.

Addressing a press conference, Borg said that this was deemed necessary even though the Transport Authority, as it stands today, is performing its functions very well.

Minister Ian Borg said that “the government believes that the time has come for both the aviation and maritime sectors to have their respective authority, as well as land transportation. The national discussion on the metro and free public transport for everyone from next year is currently underway, and so we want to see that we have distinct authorities where the committee’s job will be to see that this is achieved. At the same time, I want to address all Transport Malta workers, so as to reassure them of their position, as I also believe that this step will be an opportunity for them to advance and progress further in their specific sectors.”

The Transport Authority in Malta has been functioning for 12 years as the main authority in our country when it comes to the regulation of the transport sector. In 2017, the only non-regulatory responsibility it had was that of building new roads, which was handed over to Infrastructure Malta. The authority had merged the aviation, maritime and land sectors under a single structure governed by a Board of Directors and lead by a Chairman and CEO.

Within this context, the Ministry has set up a working group, led by Chief Judge Emeritus Joseph Azzopardi, which will be working on the necessary changes from a legislative, administrative and industrial point of view in order to de-merge Transport Malta from being the main leading authority to three independent authorities responsible for aviation, maritime and land respectively, operating under a co-ordinated governance structure.

The other members of the working group will be lawyer Dr Robert Musumeci, Mr Roberto Cristiano and Mr Karl La Ferla.

The Malta Maritime Forum and the Aviation Stakeholders Forum led by former Judge Zammit McKeon and Architect Karmenu Vella respectively will be invited by the committee during their work.