New roads to be independently tested

A batch of 37 new residential roads to be built in 10 towns will be subject to new quality testing regulations which require independent tests.

In a statement released yesterday, the Infrastructure Ministry said that the works will follow road-testing directives issued by the ministry to the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) in April.

The directives stipulate that the quality of the works must be certified in independent laboratories before any final payment is issued to contractors.

In April, Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt had said that although quality tests were required on newly constructed or extensively refurbished roads, these were being carried out by the contractor at testing facilities chosen by the contractor himself rather than by the transport watchdog.

Under previous regulations, road contractors carried out quality tests on roads they had worked on themselves. Dr Gatt said these used "very inferior" end-products for patching, a detail which he pointed out in the new set of directives issued to the ADT.

"I deem it unacceptable," Dr Gatt had said, "for the authority itself or for local councils to pursue a policy of accepting low-quality work simply because it is provided by the bidder with the cheapest offer. Minimum published quality standards should be the basic and only acceptable benchmark for tendering."