Marsa power station to be decommissioned by 2015

The Marsa power station is scheduled to be decommissioned in seven to eight years' time, making available to the government a huge piece of real estate that could be used to revive the inner Grand Harbour.

Enemalta chairman Alex Tranter explained yesterday that the Marsa plant would have to be shut down by December 31, 2015 at the latest, as a result of EU directives.

He was speaking during a meeting with Labour's leadership as part of the party's consultation encounters on the harbour area.

At the present emissions levels, Enemalta has been given another 20,000 hours of production for the Marsa plant, which could expire before the eight-year deadline, depending on the use. Mr Tranter said the plan is to shift the load, over the years, onto the Delimara plant, which will likely be switched to gas turbines, and in this way stretching, as much as possible, the production hours allocated.

All things considered, it is no mean feat given that the plant produces some 50 per cent of the country's energy requirements.

The plan, in fact, hinges not only on heavy investment at Delimara but also on the government's announced plan to have a cable link via Sicily to the European electricity grid. The cable and a gas pipeline to the neighbouring island could cost the government some Lm120 million (€279.7 million).

Mr Tranter said the plant at Marsa is still running due to the skills of the corporation's employees, pointing out that there are no spare parts available for some of the equipment, the power station being so old.

He said he was not of the opinion that the land, a massive tract in the inner part of the Grand Harbour, should be committed for a similar purpose but should be used for a project aimed at regenerating the area. The Marsa area is usually forgotten, he said, stressing that it offers huge opportunities that could turn round the area's fortunes.

Enemalta would still need to retain its fuel tanking facilities that are strategically placed. "My idea, however, is that there should be no more generation equipment, once we decommission the plant," he said.