Gozo Business Chamber CEO Daniel Borg has called for a long-term strategic vision for Gozo.
Mr Borg was contacted by Whoswho.mt after Prime Minister Robert Abela announced the date of the next general election. While the Gozo Business Chamber is still working on its electoral proposals document, Mr Borg highlighted some strategic points he, as CEO of the Chamber, believes should be worked on by the government that is formed after the election.
Aside from the need for a strategic vision for the island, Mr Borg also highlights the importance of there being agreement between the two major parties on certain proposals.
As an example, he mentioned the investment the government had announced regarding sea connectivity between Malta and Gozo.
The government at the beginning of 2026 announcement that three Gozo ferries will be upgraded, that an investment in another two new ferries will be made, and that a dedicated ship will be introduced to transport cargo between the Freeport, the Grand Harbour, and Gozo.
While welcoming the news, he said: "It is a good investment, but there needs to be an accompanying plan of investment in the ports themselves. The work that has been done in the Mġarr Task Force goes into that direction, but this is an investment which needs to be done in line with that of the ferries.”
“Mgarr can presently handle three ferries and it is congested, due to it being used for multiple reason,” he said, also noting the increase in fast ferry routes, “which while positive, will put increasing pressure on the existing infrastructure.”
He said that Mġarr presently handles over 7 million passengers, and that is a factor which needs to be taken into consideration.
Regarding Cirkewwa, Mr Borg said that it needs to be turned into "an all-weather port."
He also wants to see investment in shore-to-ship capabilities for the Cirkewwa and Mgarr ports. "These are things which could take various legislatures to do, but we need to start thinking about them now. There have been many good proposals implemented in the past, but now we need to ensure they work together."
More regional autonomy
Another point the Gozo Business Chamber CEO wants realised is increased regional autonomy for Gozo.
While stressing the importance of keeping a Gozo Ministry in order for the island to have a voice in Cabinet which puts forward the priorities for Gozo first, he believes the island needs more regional autonomy.
"This autonomy could take various forms, such as by having more regional entities and authorities, like setting up a Ports Authority that works on Gozo accessibility and which would be responsible for the investment that needs to be made in Mgarr. The idea would be to move for more regional autonomy than there is now, where we would see decisions taken and priorities made by Gozo itself for Gozo."
More regional autonomy would allow for more flexibility when it comes to decisions that need to be taken and on budgetary priorities for the island, he explained
Startup ecosystem
Mr Borg believes more effort should be put into creating a startup ecosystem for digital companies in Gozo, and wants the Digital Innovation Hub in Xewkija to be better used.
"The infrastructural investment was made," he said on the latter, also mentioning that a second fibre-optic link between Malta and Gozo had been laid, "but it’s the thinking and the strategy that needs to be changed."
While there are digital companies with local talent emerging in Gozo, he said, they still need to be brought together on the island itself, which is where fostering a startup ecosystem comes in.
He said that the Hub's concept needs to evolve into more of a community driven approach. "When looking at innovation hubs abroad, they all revolve around a community driven aspect through the interaction between the different companies operating within it."
He said that there are three main economic sectors in Gozo - the public sector, tourism and construction. "But we need to invest in other value added sectors also.”
Aside from the digital startup sector, he mentioned the success of the Queen Mary University of London campus in Gozo, and suggested that the island could also look into tapping the Medtech sector.
Regarding education, he believes that a strategic priority should be to introduce more entrepreneurship educational programmes in schools. In addition, there are certain programmes run in Gozo, such as the Chamber's Youth for Entrepreneurship programme which invite youths to pitch a business idea about Gozo, which can be developed into fully fledged programmes, giving youth the required support to also implement the business idea, he said.
Looking at the investment being made into the rural airfield, he said that the next government should tap into sectors which could complement productivity through it, mentioning the drones sector as an example, where research related to this sector could be conducted in Gozo.
"It is about thinking outside the box in terms of connectivity between the two islands."
