Opposition denounces 'collusive bidding' for Delimara contract and calls for investigation by Auditor General

Addressing the Public Accounts Committee that met this morning to continue to discuss the Auditor General’s findings on the controversial contract awarded to BWSC for the Delimara Power Statiuon extension project, Evarist Bartolo declared that the Opposition was asking the Auditor-General to investigate “new documents related to the power station extension contract which were presented to him after he concluded his report.”

Bartolo said that BWSC was fully owned by Japanese conglomerate Mitsui, while MANN, which had come second in the tendering process, was the senior licence partner of Mitsui.

“This meant that the first and second tenderers were owned by the same company – Mitsui,” the Labour MP stressed, while adding that in 2008, “Mitsui had agreed to lend Enemalta the sum of €210 million for 10 years.”

The loan – Bartolo explained – half of the loan was to be subscribed by Nordic Bank, while the other 50 per cent by the European Investment Bank (EIB).

“Five months later Enemalta had given the power station contract to a Mitsui company,” he added.

Looking towards the representative of the Auditor General present for the PAC meeting, Evarist Bartolo explained that  this had not been known to the Auditor General at the time of his report on the contract and was contained in the new documents which he [Bartolo] had submitted.