VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A study by engineer Marco Cremona estimates that traffic congestion costs Malta €1.13 billion annually, a figure roughly equal to the country’s national capital expenditure for 2025.
Speaking recently during a transport presentation organised by the political party Momentum, Cremona said the issue is not private cars themselves but the growing number of vehicles on Maltese roads.
His calculations show that around 400,000 commuters lose a total of 60.8 million hours each year in traffic congestion. Based on a value of €10 per hour, the lost time alone amounts to hundreds of millions of euros.
According to the study, the average commuter wastes about 152 hours annually in traffic, equivalent to more than six full days. Nationally, this translates into 166,667 hours lost every day, with each minute of congestion costing the country approximately €67,000.
The report also estimates that Malta’s 331,000 passenger cars consume fuel worth €518 million annually, based on average travel distances and current petrol prices.
Cremona described the figures as conservative, noting that they exclude several additional costs, including time spent searching for parking, environmental damage, public health impacts and delays to emergency services.
He also highlighted the extensive land occupied by roads, parking areas and garages, estimating its value at between €6 billion and €13 billion.
Malta ranks among the world’s most congested countries and has one of Europe’s highest car ownership rates. Official statistics show there were more than 457,000 licensed vehicles in Malta by the end of 2025, with passenger cars accounting for nearly three-quarters of the total.
This study is the first to combine both time and fuel costs into a single estimate, underlining the economic burden of congestion on the country.
– Photo Joseph Galea Inline image –
(ITALPRESS).
