Cortes outlines new bus route, educational projects and sewage infrastructure investments in budget speech

A new bus route, educational projects, and a “huge investment” to sewage infrastructure were outlined by Government Minister, Dr John Cortes, during his budget speech on Wednesday morning.
Dr Cortes outlined updates across the breadth of his portfolios including Environment, Education, Traffic and Transport, and Heritage.

Some of the major updates included the Waste Water Treatment Plant which is expected to break ground in September and how funding has been all but secured for the National Theatre project.

The Waste Water Treatment Plant, this has now obtained Outline Planning Permission and a full planning application is expected by the end of August with the project expected to break ground by September.

In addition to the progress on the Plant, Dr Cortes said there is an ongoing major project to lay new sewage mains in phases marking a “huge investment in Gibraltar’s sewer infrastructure.”

“This clearly indicates Government’s commitment to renovating the sewage system to cope with growth and ensuring that wastewater is dealt with in an environmentally sound manner,” Dr Cortes said.

He called Gibraltar’s new Wastewater Treatment Plant and Waste Management Facility, “probably the most significant environmental infrastructure projects undertaken in Gibraltar in a generation.”

“This regulatory oversight is essential to ensure that both projects meet stringent environmental requirements, incorporate best practice design and remain fully aligned with EU and UK standards,” he said.

Once operational, these facilities will significantly strengthen Gibraltar’s capacity to manage waste, increase our self sufficiency and help ensure that Gibraltar continues to meet its environmental responsibilities for decades to come.

Dr Cortes announced a new Bus Route 6 which would combine Route 3 and 8 and increased frequency to every 15 minutes.

He added there is increased the frequency of buses for Route 2 and later this year the Government will be introducing a new shuttle linking St Joseph’s school area to Europa Road, which will benefit residents and visitors to the South District.

A tender will now issue for replacement of the larger buses also with electric vehicles to reduce emissions and help achieve air quality targets.

Dr Cortes said a new and much improved ticketing system will go live in September, providing a better service to users and more accessible statistics.

He added that funding for the National Theatre project has been all but secured, a preferred bidder for the tender nominated, and that work on the ground is expected to commence shortly.

In education, Dr Cortes highlighted the successful launch of Targeted Youth Support (TYS), a joint initiative between the Department of Education and the Gibraltar Youth Service.

This programme provides personalised support for young people who have become disengaged from education or who require additional guidance to overcome personal, social or emotional barriers and help young people reconnect positively with education and their future.

A new pre-16 pathway based at the Gibraltar College has been established for a small cohort of Year 11 learners whose education has been significantly affected by trauma, illness or other complex circumstances.

“Through highly personalised programmes of learning and dedicated pastoral support, we aim to re-engage these young people with education, rebuild confidence and create meaningful pathways towards future learning and employment,” Dr Cortes said.

He added a “significant milestone this year” has been the opening of a new Learning Support Facility at St Bernard's Upper Primary School.

“Learning Support Facilities are now established across all but one Government school, as this September will see the extension of our LSF provision to St Bernard's Lower Primary School,” he said.

“We remain firmly committed to the principle of early intervention. Working closely with colleagues from the GHA, we continue to identify children's needs at the earliest opportunity so that appropriate support can be planned from the beginning of their educational journey.”

“This commitment is reflected in the relocation of Early Birds Nursery to its newly refurbished premises, providing an enhanced learning environment for our youngest learners.”

At St Martin's School, Dr Cortes said, investment in strengthening senior leadership has strengthened capacity, enhanced communication with families, further improved home-school relationships and supported the continued development of high-quality specialist provision.

Planning has continued for the next phase of the school's development, with 49 additional permanent teaching posts, nine additional classrooms at St Martin’s School and three new vocational courses introduced or planned at Gibraltar College.

Moving to his Heritage portfolio, Dr Cortes said the Moorish Castle, the Dungeons and the Discovery Trail are now very near successful completion and will be opening to the public soon.
The Jungle Park and the Northern Defences are envisaged to be ready in early 2027.

The premises at the Moorish Castle have been extended to now include new site offices to accommodate the needs of Upper Rock staff and visitors.

Dr Cortes said heritage sites had been long neglected and revenue generated from the Nature Reserve was never properly reinvested into the sites themselves.

“We have taken a different approach,” he said.

“By increasing ticket prices for non-residents and introducing modern visitor management systems, revenue from the Nature Reserve has increased from around £3.7m in 2017/18 to over £16m in 2025/26.”

Other areas of the Gibraltar Nature Reserve: Jews’ Gate, Apes’ Den, Devil’s and the lower section of Charles V all, O’Hara’s Battery, and Tovey Cottage educational centre will be tackled next.

Dr Cortes added that Butterfly Park at Lewis Battery, Princess Caroline’s Battery, Princess Anne and Princess Amelia’s batteries, and the restoration of Devil’s Gap Battery are new projects that will form part of the next stage of improvements and development, and will see progress during the course of this financial year.

The recently launched the new electric shuttle bus service to the Upper Rock, in partnership with the GTA, has transported over 5,000 passengers since its launch in June.

As part of ongoing work to remove congestion and increase existing parking availability across Gibraltar, the Government has rolled out the enhanced Derelict Vehicle Cleaning Campaign, a coordinated effort to remove abandoned and non-roadworthy vehicles from local streets and relieve pressure on parking areas.

Gibraltar currently has over 45,000 registered vehicles but only 14,654 public parking spaces, Dr Cortes said, hence the importance of the zone parking scheme, which he said is being a scheme actively reviewed.

He added that enforcement teams also identified that 18% of vehicles were without a valid MOT, increasing the likelihood of them being left unused or abandoned in public areas.

“To address these issues, the Ministry for Transport, DVLD, Gibraltar Car Parks, the Royal Gibraltar Police, and Britannia have been working together to identify, tag, and remove derelict vehicles across all parking zones,” he said.

“Recent legislative changes now make it faster and easier to remove vehicles from the public highway.”

Funding in the order of £1.5m has been proposed in this Bill for Highways Maintenance and Resurfacing projects, which Dr Cortes said reflected the Government’s commitment to ensure the road network is kept to a high standard.

The Department has also engaged on a major project to maintain the catch fences located on the Eastside to the south of Sandy Bay.

“This is a major scheme which followed the removal of rocks caught by the catch fences over the years,” Dr Cortes said.

“This latest phase, with a value in excess of £500,000, aims to repair and upgrade the catch fences located in this area to improve safety.”

“While rock falls are unfortunately something that we have to live with in Gibraltar, they will have been happening for at least six million years, the Department continues to monitor the risks and takes immediate action whenever necessary.”

At the Environmental Agency, mosquito control has become an increasingly important part of their work due to the growing regional presence of mosquito borne diseases in southern Spain.

Close links are maintained with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) mosquito team, which helps assess Gibraltar’s potential exposure to West Nile Virus, dengue fever and chikungunya and ensures local surveillance remains aligned with international best practice.

“Officers are now preparing to launch a targeted campaign to dose storm drains with Bti, a biological larvicide used to control mosquito larvae before they emerge as adults,” Dr Cortes said.
“This work will be carried out across known breeding hotspots during the warmer months.”