[WATCH] Minister mulling harsher penalties for defaulting contractors

It's time to consider new disciplinary measures against defaulting contractors who breach conditions laid out in public works tenders, including possibly bringing another contractor in to finish the work, infrastructure minister Joe Mizzi said on Monday. 

Joe Mizzi : Photo by James Bianchi/MediaToday

"Having fines is not enough if the roadworks or project remains unfinished," he said. "What we realised is that, very often, contractors even factor in the cost of the fines in their tender applications."

Mizzi was addressing a press conference on the status of works in the City Gate project. 

He said that the 13 remaining kiosks outside the entrance to Valletta had been dismantled over three nights, with some 190 tonnes of construction waste collected and separated. 

"The Tritons Fountain has also been dismantled, and the bronze pieces have been prepared for transport to Italy for their restoration."

Mizzi said that the restoration and maintenance work on the fountain, including all services installation, will cost €4 million. These will be added to a further €10 million being spent by the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation on work near the Education Ministry, in front of the Phoenicia Hotel, in Nelson Street, in the ditch and around the Tritons Fountain.

In a few days’ time, a tender will be issued for the procurement of hard stone slabs and paving of the square in front of City Gate.

Asked by MaltaToday what he was doing to ensure that all the projects were finalised by the end of the year and before Valletta took on the mantle of European Capital City of Culture in 2018, Mizzi said he was being very harsh in supervising tenders – and not only with regards to work affecting this project.

“Imposing fines is not enough since many contractors often include that cost in their application,” he said. “In the case of City Gate project, the only major roadblock we’ve encountered was in overcoming technical issues in the contract for the dismantling and transport of the bronze pieces of the Tritons Fountain.”