Government had considered scrapping dockyard tendering process - minister

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech admitted this afternoon that the government had considered scrapping the call for tenders for the dockyard's ship repair facilities after receiving three 'miserable' bids.

Speaking in parliament, which was discussing the transfer of the facilities to Italian company Palumbo, the minister said that after the first call for tenders, Cantieri del Mediterraneao offered an upfront payment of just €101,000 and ground rent of €1.65 million. Palumbo offered €1m and ground rent of €1.66 million. CMG CGM proposed payments that would be deferred for several years. Furthermore, the company wanted the dockyard machinery to be state of the art.

The government wrote to the bidders inviting them to submit fresh bids. CMA CGM and Cantieri joined forces in one bid but that bid was still half of Palumbo's new bid, and the bidders requested state of the art equipment which would have cost the government as much as it would have received from the contract.

Palumbo, on the other hand, raised its offer to a total of €90 million over 30 years, with the net present value being €52 million.

In his speech Mr Fenech insisted that should Palumbo wish to diversify its activities on the dockyard site, it could only do so with permission by the government.