Ministry denies claims on shipyard bid

The government has denied that Neapolitan firm Palumbo wants the superyacht yard as a condition to acquire Cospicua's ship repair facility.

In a statement, the Finance Ministry yesterday said the call for tenders stipulates that any such condition would lead to the bidder's disqualification.

It also denied media reports that Palumbo was paying only €5.7 million for the ship repair facility.

"These figures are far from the truth," it said.

Although it would not divulge the amount Palumbo was paying for the ship repair facility, the ministry said the figures being touted were far from the truth.

"While it is not possible to reveal the figures while negotiations are underway, these are higher than the speculative ones being mentioned," the ministry said, adding that the real figures would be revealed in Parliament when this was called to authorise the land transfer.

Last month Finance Minister Tonio Fenech told The Times that selling the land used by the shipyards for speculative purposes would have fetched a higher price. However, he said, the government wanted to protect the industry.

The government was not satisfied with the first bids for the ship repair facility and last May asked the three bidding consortia to increase their financial offers and improve their business plans.