Renzo Piano demands €300,000 overdue from GHRC

In judicial protest filed this morning, Renzo Piano Building Workshop called on the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation to settle the pending balance of funds

More trouble for the New Parliament Building project, as the architectural firm who designed it is demanding the sum of €300,000 in unpaid fees from the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation (GHRC).

In a judicial protest filed this morning, Renzo Piano Building Workshop called upon the GHRC to settle the pending balance of €300,000, which represent agreed extra fees for the additional time taken to complete the project.

Lawyer Franco Vassallo, who signed the protest, argued that the agreement was for full payment upon “practical completion” of the development “which not only had been passed onto you months ago but which has, in fact, been used by the Malta Parliament since May 2015.”

GHRC, who inherited the legal obligations of the Project Manager, Bovis, had been obliged to issue the certificate of practical completion but hadn’t, says the architect’s firm, adding that “the failure on your part does not entitle you to sidestep your contractual obligations.”  

Renzo Piano Building Workshop gave the GHRC two days to pay before court proceedings would be filed.