Marine aquarium bidder awaiting EU fund approval

The aquarium will be home to marine animals and will also include sharks. The aquarium will go a long way to embellish the tourist zone around Fra Ben.

The tender stipulates that the private contractor will be paid a maximum of €8,850,000 (including VAT) with 85% being funded by the EU and 15% by the government, for the design, construction and operation of the aquarium for a number of years.

According to a spokesperson for parliamentary secretary Mario de Marco, the contractor will provide “substantial additional investment to cover the initial capital outlay” and will not be paid by government for the running of the attraction.

The building and land will also remain government property.

When asked whether the government funding for the project conformed to EU legislation on State, the then government spokesperson replied that although the local authorities do not think that this arrangement constitutes State aid, “it was decided that, prior to the signing of the contract, the Commission should be consulted on this issue.”
The procurement procedure for the tender was based on the competitive dialogue procedure, which started in January 2009. The decision on awarding the tender to Ebcon Global was taken by the General Contracts Committee on 11 January of this year.

The Malta Tourism Authority is leading an EU-funded project that incorporates upgrading works at Pembroke, St Paul’s Bay and Qawra. The aquarium project is one component within this overall €14 million investment in the product.

Ebcon Group of Companies includes MFF Ltd and Melita Blu Sea Limited. MFF Ltd was established in 1993 with the aim of producing 500 metric tonnes of Gilthead Sea Bream and European Sea Bass for export annually. Melita Blu Sea Ltd was established to assist in the Bluefin Tuna operations carried out by MFF Ltd.

The   Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) has stepped in to finance the marine aquarium park in Qawra in 2007  because it could not attract private investors to develop it. 

According to a project development statement submitted three years ago, the aquarium will include tanks around a central restaurant. A laboratory and a lecture hall will also support the aquarium. “It will provide a unique experience of life in coastal habitats, and will be both a showcase of underwater life as well as an educational experience on the marine environment,” the PDS states.

The project development statement also included plans for a diving institute set next to the aquarium. “This will not be a diving school or dive centre, of which there are many in the Bugibba-Qawra area, but rather an education facility that would provide expertise and support to the numerous dive centres,” the PDS reads.

A Marine Archaeology Museum is set to house artefacts recovered from the seabed over the past decades to create “one thematic attraction base” on the marine archaeology of the islands.

Research facilities will also accompany the aquarium with emphasis laid on marine conservation issues like over exploitation, habitat destruction, marine pollution and sustainable fisheries.

All fish brought into the aquarium will initially be required to spend some time in the quarantine aquarium to ensure that they do not carry contagious diseases that may affect the fish already living in the aquarium.