Renzo Piano given €2.6 million to date for City Gate design

To date, star-chitect Renzo Piano has been paid €2.5 million, out of the full €6.6 million Piano will be receiving for his contribution in the Valletta City Gate project.

24 November 2010, 12:00am
by Nestor Laiviera

1 min read

Speaking in Parliament, Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt said Piano’s Building Workshop has, to date, received €2,428,800 since being assigned the City Gate Project.

Maltatoday had revealed the full figure that Renzo Piano’s contribution to the City Gate project will be costing public coffers - paid out by the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation, a contracting entity free from scrutiny by the Contracts Department.

A full list of tenders and direct orders issued by the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation shows the maestro has already been paid €2.6 million of his fees, just one of the direct orders issued by the corporation.

As a ‘schedule 3’ corporation, the GHRC can issue contracts without the vetting of the finance ministry or the contracts department, and instead seek permission from Austin Gatt’s infrastructure and transport ministry.