Opera House site re-development 'may be resurrected'

Building on the ruins of the Royal Opera House, a project shelved last year for lack of money, could get off the ground in the near future, according to Jesmond Mugliett who has taken on the new role as minister for urban development and roads.

"By June we are hoping to be in a position to take a decision. The Prime Minister is very keen on the project. It could be a choice between a building to house parliament or a cultural centre for theatre and the arts," he said.

Speaking in a wide-ranging interview, Mr Mugliett said one of the problems the project faced was that it had become too big and included too many things, such as City Gate and the bus terminus.

The plan, he said, was to tackle one project at a time, establish the limits of each and act accordingly.

"We cannot shut our eyes to City Gate and it is quite obvious it needs to be done. However, the project can be carried out in phases," he said.

Another project Mr Mugliett plans to revive is the park and ride system between Floriana and Valletta, which should have been up and running by the end of 2002 but remained stuck.

This system was set to function from the Hornworks and Crown ditches in Floriana, where a car park taking 950 cars would be set up. The plan was for motorists parking there to get into the city by hopping onto a small, electrically powered 25-seater midi-bus, which would leave the car park every six minutes.

"The park and ride system has remained dormant as a project even though there had been a Cabinet decision to start it off. This system could be a determining element in a number of projects so it is also one of our priorities," Mr Mugliett said.

"It has a lot of implications on related projects such as the cruise liner terminal and the proposal for a cable car. We have to re-visit Cabinet's decision, get the backing of the Malta Transport Authority and see whether the plans proposed two years ago are still feasible or if they need to be tweaked.

"Then we will be in a position to kick it off. There are also some funds frozen for this project," he added.

However, the ministry's foremost priority is roads and utilising the Lm35 million at its disposal - from the Italian fifth financial protocol, EU cohesion funds, Gozo's regional funds and the budget allocated by the government - in the best possible way.

Contracts, for three main projects which will be funded by the Italian protocol, are expected to be awarded by the end of this month with the work starting in earnest soon after.

A French company is also in the process of conducting an environmental impact assessment to identify a long-term strategy for road works in Malta.

This strategy will indicate where and how road construction projects can be carried out.

The situation of some of the island's roads is a sore point with motorists and Mr Mugliett promised to do his utmost to deliver tangible results. "Roads are a priority and we will do our best. But this does not mean that everything will happen overnight. We will work towards a road network we can be proud of," he said.

Before achieving this motorists could first face a degree of disorder because "there could possibly be so much road building that traffic management could become an issue".

However, the Roads Directorate has plans in hand to ensure that the impact of construction work is minimised.

It's not just motorists who complain about roads. In February the National Audit Office tabled a scathing report in parliament on road construction and restoration contracts.

The report pointed out that the Roads Directorate lacked a coherent project-planning approach and an adequate internal control system in financial and technical matters.

It carried out an analysis of the time and cost variation of 11 contracts started and completed between 1998 and 2002 - none was finished in the stipulated timeframe and practically all of them exceeded the original budget.

The report had concluded there was no evidence that penalties were being levied for late delivery of works covered by the 11 reviewed contracts.

Will this hard report be ignored?

"I agree it is not a pleasant report and we can only influence what happens in the directorate. If there are shortcomings from the contractor's side we have to ensure we have rigorous standards and controls in place," he said.

However, Mr Mugliett said that before reaching any conclusions it was important to see whether it was solely the contractor who was at fault. "Before putting all the blame on them - and I am not saying they are without fault - we have to have our house in order with proper traffic management plus ensuring decisions are taken by the directorate on time," he said.

He cited as an example a situation in which a contractor has proposed modifications in the plan and was just awaiting the directorate's approval, or approval from one of the main utility providers, delaying the works unnecessarily.

"What I find disconcerting is that there is no quantity surveying section in the directorate which comes up with proper estimates. So I will be looking into this. We also need better quality control and project management," he insisted.

"In my opinion these would become more pertinent and needed once we embark on bigger projects."

Was the fact that the cheapest bidder was practically always chosen during the tendering process also one of the reasons behind the delays?

"I did not follow the tendering process before. Obviously, when there is a tender adjudication, price is an important part of the equation but awarding the works to the cheapest bidder does sometimes have its pitfalls. It can lead to bad workmanship or a situation where the contractor cannot complete the job. But I cannot speak about the past," he said.

Mr Mugliett said it was crucial to assess what capacity of works different contractors could carry out.

"It is useless giving a contract to someone who cannot handle the work. Classification of contractors could be one way of addressing this issue. Contractors have different capabilities, as well as different capacities, so they cannot all handle the same projects."

In the coming weeks Mr Mugliett will be sifting through the priorities of his ministry, which also include capital projects, and his enthusiasm augurs well for the future.