Government-Skanska agreement
Mater Dei Hospital to open in July 2007
The Mater Dei Hospital will open its doors on July 1, 2007, as the government and Skanska yesterday finally managed to hammer out at agreement over one of the most contentious projects in years.
After a final make-or-break meeting yesterday afternoon, a beaming Prime Minister told reporters: "I am pleased to announce that we have an agreement on the hospital project" - sealing weeks of intense discussions, which often threatened to derail the project.
The details of the agreement, especially the financial element, were sparse, with Dr Gonzi saying he would provide all the information in Parliament tomorrow, after the Cabinet meeting.
The two main points of contention over the new hospital at Tal-Qroqq were the final costs and the date of completion. A few weeks ago, Dr Gonzi suspended negotiations with Skanska-Malta joint venture pending an explanation and a justification as to why the completion costs for the hospital had ballooned from the original quotation of Lm83.6 million.
The two sides managed to bridge the gap following a series of meetings over the last weeks and after yesterday's final encounter, which involved Dr Gonzi, Health Minister Louis Deguara, Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech, and top officials from Skanska, including President Stuart Graham.
Dr Gonzi said the hospital's designs would remain unchanged, though the negotiations had identified ways of using the space better.
The meeting established a figure for the penalties that would have to be paid should the project fail to be completed on time.
The two sides also mapped out a strategy to carry out ahead of time certain works, which had been pencilled in for completion in 2010.
There were still a number of issues which had to be resolved, such the purchase of hospital equipment and the plan for migration from St Luke's Hospital, Dr Gonzi said.
The function of the Foundation for Medical Services would now have to be "readjusted" since the risk of the expense had been transferred to Skanska.
Asked whether he felt the government had ultimately won the tug-of-war with Skanska, Dr Gonzi was diplomatic: "It was give and take from both sides. But we wanted a fixed and realistic opening date, and to establish a penalty if the hospital is not completed in its entirety on time.
"Ultimately, we've reached all our aims. They were tough and intense discussions, but we held firm."