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Steep port handling charges halt plans to import gravel and
other rock
by Maurizio Cappitta
An innovative plan to import large quantities of gravel and
other fragmented rock to be used for the rebuilding of heavier
duty roads has run into problems after the contractors found
out that the cost of transporting the material from Marsa or
Kalafrana to their storage facility was nearly the same as transport
costs from Tunisia and Sicily. Censu Galea, minister for Transport
and Communications, confirmed that a number of contractors had
approached him with their plans, however these were not viable
because of the steep local port handling fees.
The contractors’ plan would stop further damage to the
physical and aesthetic aspect of what remains of the countryside
by reducing eyesore quarrying. At the same time it would provide
a more solid base for roads being
re-built.
Minister Galea confirmed that entrepreneurs showed evidence
that the cost of buying, and shipping to Malta gravel and other
type of fragmented stone from Tunisia and Sicily is only marginally
more expensive than moving the material from the Grand Harbour
or the Freeport to any part of the island be it one or 20 kilometres
away from Marsa or Kalafrana.
Both the government, contractors who have no vested interests
in the local quarries, and environmentalists agree that the
idea of importing gravel has several advantages. They believe
it would slow down stone-cutting from quarries, while the harder
gravel and stone specimens imported would provide a much more
solid basis for Malta’s roads.
According to the Planning Authority there are 110 quarries in
Malta and Gozo of which 80 are licensed, 10 are inoperative
and the rest have no permit. A number of these quarries are
mined to produce gravel for the different layers under the tarmac.
Some quarries, such as those near Burmarrad are sited on what
used to be fertile agricultural land.
The plans to import stone at cost-effective prices are being
hindered by the elaborate system of unloading cargo from Malta’s
ports and delivering it to the client. Importers and exporters
say the system is eating away at Malta’s dwindling competitiveness
while raising prices for the consumer.
Any cargo which arrives by sea has to be unloaded and delivered
to the client though a system involving a variety of handlers
organised into groups of stevedores (burdnara) and the GWU-owned
Cargo handling company. Whether the cargo is lose, in pallets
or in containers, exporters and importers have to go through
the same ritual of paying fees at each stop.
Advances in shipping and port handling such as pumping cement
in silos and the roll-on roll-off system have not reduced costs
in Malta but only relieved port workers of part of their work,
an industrialist said.
Some burdnara earn over Lm15,000 per annum and any attempt to
bypass them will inevitably receive a hardened reaction. In
addition to these charges, fees for importers increase further
as the Maritime Authority charges for use of port pilots and
berthing. Importers have to pay for tug
services even if many modern ships can manoeuvre without the
need for tugs.
Meanwhile, another environment-friendly and cost-cutting project
is likely to be abandoned because of the port charges problem.
Entrepreneurs promoting this project would like to import to
Malta a material called “klink” which is used in lieu
of cement to recycle cement bricks which in reconstruction jobs
is often dumped at Maghtab. With port handling charges as they
are, such a plan would not be viable. (CCT News)
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