Former Enemalta chief to head roads agency

Former Enemalta CEO Frederick Azzopardi will be taking up the role of CEO of the new road agency being set up by the Government, while current Transport Malta chairman and CEO James Piscopo will be taking up the role of non-executive chairman, the transport ministry has said.

The agency is being set up by the Government to enact its electoral pledge of redoing all of Malta’s roads over a period of seven years with an investment of €700 million.

“Mr. James Piscopo and Ing. Fredrick Azzopardi have been offered to serve the position of a Non-executive Chairperson and a Chief Executive Officer respectively,” a spokesperson for the ministry told MaltaToday.

The spokesperson said that a board of directors would formally be appointed once the law has been passed.

“The ministry’s plan is to divulge more information to media in the coming weeks, specifically about the setting up of the Agency, its role, how it will be functioning with all related entities and stakeholders, amongst other information,” they said.

Both Azzopardi and Piscopo confirmed they had been approached when contacted.

Azzopardi was most recently the CEO of Enemalta, a post he held since 2013. During his time as CEO, Azzopardi oversaw the signing of a €320 million deal that sold off a 33% stake to Shanghai Electric Power and the conversion of the BWSC plant to gas. During his tenure the state-owned energy company went from making a loss to turning a profit.

He confirmed that he would “eventually” be taking up the role of CEO once the necessary legislation has been approved by parliament in a “few weeks’ time”.

Piscopo said he had confirmed his availability to the ministry, noting that as chairman and CEO of transport Malta, he had overseen and delivered important projects including the Kappara Project and Coast Road, as well as “various other road infrastructure projects”.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Kappara Junction in January, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat hailed the work undertaken by Transport Malta as well as Piscopo, who, he said, had been one of the main driving forces behind the agency.

The new agency will have its own technical and human resources, and would be drawing upon human resources at Transport Malta’s Roads and Infrastructure Directorate which would be incorporated in this new entity with the same existing terms and conditions.

The agency will also be assuming new responsibilities such as road infrastructure, which to date has fallen within the remit of local councils.