Labour Pledges Sliema–Gozo Fast Ferry in €130m Connectivity Drive

Prime Minister Robert Abela used a Labour Party mass rally in Xagħra on Friday evening to unveil a broad package of pledges for Gozo, with an air taxi service between the two islands as the headline announcement. Speaking to supporters in Gozo's largest village square, Abela said connectivity was "the most crucial aspect for Gozo" and promised that, if Labour is returned to government, the party will work to eliminate what he called the island's "double insularity" — the compounded disadvantage of being an island off an island.

He set a specific target: a 25% increase in Malta–Gozo connectivity by the end of the coming legislature. The connectivity package includes more frequent fast ferry services, among them the recently announced Sliema–Buġibba–Gozo route, as well as an extension of the Tallinja on Demand service to Gozo and investment in a fully electric bus fleet for the island.

Maltese and Gozitan passengers crossing the channel without a vehicle would travel free of charge — a proposal Abela has aired before but repeated as a firm commitment on Friday. The annual support scheme for Gozitans who commute to Malta for work or study would rise to €800. Labour is also pledging a €130 million investment in Gozo Channel, covering the ferry operator and its freight services, alongside works at Mġarr port and a new transport hub in Marsalforn.

A separate €45 million electricity interconnector between the two islands would, Abela said, guarantee secure power distribution for Gozitan homes and businesses. Other pledges announced at the rally cover health, hospital services, schools and skills. A robotics-equipped pharmacy at Gozo General Hospital would provide chemotherapy and monotherapy services on the island rather than requiring patients to travel to Malta.

Labour would modernise all Gozitan schools, develop an arts, design and creativity centre for local artists, and direct all eco-contributions collected in Gozo back into beautification projects on the island. On education and skills, Abela put forward a €5,000 grant for Gozitan students who complete compulsory schooling, and a €1,000-per-worker grant to Gozitan businesses that invest in reskilling or upskilling staff.

He said that under his administration, 5,000 more Gozitans are in employment than ever before, and that the Gozitan economy exceeded €1 billion in a single calendar year for the first time. In total, he said, Labour has drawn up 100 proposals specifically for Gozo. Abela also addressed the political mood directly.

He said opposition leader Alex Borg, a native Gozitan, "has already convinced himself that Gozo is blue," and warned supporters not to be complacent. Abela described the upcoming election as "the most difficult election this government has ever faced," saying that opinion surveys, social media and editorials are running against Labour — a characterisation he offered from the podium, not one drawn from independent polling.

All commitments made at the rally are electoral pledges from a Labour Party campaign event and no independent corroboration of the figures or timelines was available at the time of publication.