The Nationalist Party confirmed that it has not conducted any studies; rather, it based its proposal on a presentation that was discarded by the government in 2023 after further advice and considerations from experts.

This desktop exercise, which has now clearly been shown to underpin his campaign, was provided by PWC to the Minister of Transport on 19th May 2023.

This presentation primarily discusses a “financial model” and “financial assumptions” concerning the metro project and how it could generate a return on the concession. It is therefore becoming increasingly clear that the Opposition did not have and does not have any technical reports like those the government presented a few weeks ago.

The same presentation indicates that with this proposal, the country’s debt would reach 76% of the national wealth, which means it breaches the European Commission’s criteria. Additionally, the country’s deficit would rise to 8.2%, almost three times the deficit accepted by the Commission. In fact, this was the reason why the government had to scale down the project to make it feasible and viable.

This presentation was not prepared by an engineering firm but by an audit firm, precisely because they refer to their study as “illustrative financial projections”.

Moreover, if one examines the full report, it confirms that what the Opposition Leader states about five years is incorrect. Contrary to what the Nationalist Party claims, the report confirms that five years is not feasible because it leaves insufficient time for planning permits, environmental permits, and procurement processes.

PWC’s presentation clearly shows that what was before them was in a “preliminary stage” in every aspect. It also adds as a “key observation” that the infrastructure project, i.e. tunnelling, rails, and stations, carries “risks and uncertainties” related to geology and permitting processes.

Therefore, if the Nationalist Party wants to be credible, it should publish its studies.

(for more information on the technical detail visit : Click here )