Developing a future-ready national transport model for Malta, positioning it as a leader in integrated mobility planning in the EU
Systematica supported Transport Malta in the development of a National Transport Strategy (NTS) and a National Transport Master Plan, establishing a short, medium, and long term vision for mobility across the country.
A critical element of this process was the creation of a National Transport Model (NTM), conceived as a comprehensive analytical platform capable of supporting evidence-based transport policy, infrastructure planning, and long-term mobility strategies.
The complexity of the assignment stemmed from both the scale and the specificity of the Maltese context. Despite the country’s relatively compact geography, Malta experiences highly concentrated travel demand, intense congestion dynamics, strong tourism-related mobility pressures, and complex interactions between urban areas, regional corridors, ports, and airport-related traffic.
The model therefore needed to operate simultaneously as a national strategic planning tool and as a flexible technical platform capable of supporting future policy testing, infrastructure assessment, and project-level analysis across multiple long-term scenarios.
As part of a multinational consortium, Systematica worked alongside Ineco S.A. (Spain) and A.D.I. (Malta), delivering specialized expertise in transport modeling, scenario forecasting, and strategic mobility planning.
Systematica’s role focused on the development of the Malta National Transport Model, ensuring it could serve both high-level policy evaluation and more detailed transport and infrastructure studies.
The project was structured around the development and application of the Malta National Transport Model (NTM), designed to support strategic planning, infrastructure assessment, economic evaluation, environmental analysis, and long-term transport monitoring.
The project was structured in three phases, with Systematica primarily involved in the first two:
- Development of the National Transport Model
Systematica conducted a comprehensive diagnosis of Malta’s transport system, analysing current travel demand, mobility patterns, transport infrastructure, and multimodal interactions across the country. These insights were used to develop a Base Year Model, accurately representing existing transport conditions across the country. - Scenario Forecasting through the NTM
The Base Year Model was used to simulate and evaluate multiple future mobility scenarios, supporting the assessment of policy measures, infrastructure investments, and long-term transport strategies. The results of this work informed the preparation of the Malta National Transport Model Technical User Manual, ensuring the model could be effectively used and maintained for future planning and monitoring.
By combining advanced modelling methodologies with detailed territorial analysis, Systematica ensured that the NTM provides reliable, actionable insights for policy development, infrastructure planning, and sustainable mobility strategies across Malta.
The Malta National Transport Strategy 2050, supported by the National Transport Model, has been recognized by the European Union as a Best Practice in the transport domain.
Key impacts of our work include:
- Development of a robust, integrated national transport model covering all transport modes and future mobility scenarios
- Provision of forecasting tools and technical guidance supporting infrastructure planning, economic assessment, and policy evaluation
- Creation of a scalable modelling framework for future transport monitoring and strategy updates
Through this work, Systematica contributed to establishing a data-driven and future-oriented mobility planning framework, supporting Malta’s transition toward a more sustainable, resilient, and integrated transport system.