Mater Dei Hospital design contributed to higher construction cost, National Audit Office probe shows

The design of Malta’s only general hospital contributed to the high cost of construction that exceeded international benchmarks, the National Audit Office said.

The comparative exercise showed that Mater Dei Hospital’s design and construction costs were 30% higher per square metre when compared to the construction of Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre.

The findings come from an addendum to a previous investigation carried out by the NAO concluded in 2018 on the construction of Mater Dei Hospital between 1987 and 2008. The original investigation was prompted in 2015 by the discovery of defective concrete structures at the hospital.

The original NAO report was tabled in parliament in May 2018 but the Finance Ministry had requested a follow up report on the matter.

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The additional report was tabled in parliament this afternoon.

Mater Dei cost taxpayers €583 million and although the new hospital was a catalyst to transform Malta’s national health care system, it was dogged by quality, cost and timeliness issues.

Original targeted cost exceeded by five times

The NAO said that the hospital costs exceeded the original targeted contractual values by around five times.

The project was completed 15 years from when the first agreement regarding the hospital project was signed. Changes in government policies on the hospital’s scope, size and design, following two successive changes of government, also contributed to cost overruns and project delays, the NAO said.

“While appreciating that the nature of major public projects can be susceptible to some, if not all, of the issues raised in this report, in practice many aspects of these shortcomings could have been either minimised or avoided,” the NAO said.

It reiterated the importance of planning, coordination between all stakeholders from the outset, and of having effective control mechanisms in place.

“This ascertains that projects proceed along their intended path and deliver their intended impact within the budget allocation, facilitating timely corrective action, if and as required,” the NAO said.