Enemalta owed the public an explanation as to why the deadline to install the power cable linking Malta to Europe’s energy grid through Sicily would not be met, Nationalist back bencher Jean-Pierre Farrugia said.
Government sources said the project was held back because of permit delays from the Italian side
“I insist that the next Enemalta financial estimates give a detailed timeline that explains why the plans fell behind,” he said in a brief speech during the Nationalist Party’s general council meeting’s closing session yesterday.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said on Saturday that the power cable, originally meant to be completed by the end of 2012, was not expected to be ready before the end of this legislature in 2013. Government sources said the project was held back because of permit delays from the Italian side.
Dr Gonzi’s words contrasted with a statement by Resources Minister George Pullicino on Friday saying the interconnector will be commissioned next year.
The commissioning of the interconnector, along with the extension of the Delimara power station, is seen as a pre-requisite for the closing down of the Marsa power station, which has already exceeded an extension of the operational hours granted to it in terms of EU rules.
Dr Farrugia said that the public, especially those who lived in the areas around the Marsa power station, deserved an explanation to justify the delay.
He referred to a series of parliamentary questions over the years when he was reassured that the cable would be installed by the end of 2012.
Dr Farrugia, who chairs the Parliamentary Committee on the Family, called on the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development to collaborate with the government in increasing maternity leave from the current 14 weeks to 18 weeks.
He also suggested that subsidies on heated water be given to people who lived in social housing blocks where lack of space on the roof did not allow the installation of solar water heaters.
A recent report identified the Marsa power station as the likely source of the coarse black dust particles that have bothered residents in the region for many years.
In July 2010, Enemalta cancelled the tender for the electricity interconnector between Malta and Sicily, saying the sole bidder, ABB Consortium, was “administratively non compliant” with tender conditions.
Fresh bids were then requested from four shortlisted companies but only three submitted a bid – ABB, Nexans and Prysmian PowerLink . The Nexans bid was €25 million cheaper than second-placed ABB.
In December 2010, the government signed a €182 million contract with French company Nexans that will be responsible for the laying of the underwater cable.
The cable will be laid in depths of about 160 metres. As a result of the interconnector, Malta will be able to buy electricity from nuclear power plants abroad, which pollute less than those run on fossil fuels, or from plants running on renewable energy. This would help the island reach the EU emissions targets.