A total of €21 million will be needed to upgrade petrol stations to bring them in line with an EU directive, according to the Malta Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU), which is concerned that many might have to close down.
According to a GRTU study, around 80 of the 90 petrol stations in Malta need to change all their equipment, from the underground storage tanks and petrol pumps, to all the piping, which will cost hundreds of thousands of euros. The intention is to make them safer, as well as more environmentally friendly by cutting down on fumes, leakages and emissions.
The substantial works mean it would take around six months to complete each petrol station. Although they have until the end of 2019 to comply, Malta could end up with the operation of several stations disrupted at the same time unless works start soon and in a planned and managed sequence, the GRTU warned.
However, delays are likely because few petrol station owners have funds for the work, GRTU chief executive Abigail Mamo said.
“Petrol station owners are hoping they can get help from the government or the EU. There were funds at one stage but no one was aware of them and we are now trying to find out whether they are still available,” she said.
“The problem is that EU funds cannot be used for works relating to compliance. But since this does not become a compliance issue until 2020, we are trying to find a way for the work to be seen as an upgrade investment.
“There was also a fund built up over the years from a percentage of the revenue, which was recently distributed to the station owners, but this was barely enough to cover their normal maintenance and upgrading costs, let alone something on this scale.”
The cost of the works will be complicated by the fact that many stations would have to close down while the installation is underway, although Electrofix, which has set up a petroleum division, believes that it would be possible to do the work without interrupting operations.
“We are offering a turnkey service from design to installation and we believe that we could do a station within three months or less while operations continue. But clearly, it does not make sense for all the petrol stations to want the work done at the same time. They need to start thinking about it sooner rather than later,” director Debbie Schembri said.
The GRTU believes that without assistance, a number of the petrol station owners will not afford the works – especially those without enough space to offer ancillary services like a car wash, shop and mechanics. As a result, they will close down and sell their licences.
“There is now a Mepa fuel policy which identifies possible locations. But there are still a lot of complicated procedures involved with getting a permit, both from Mepa and the Malta Resources Authority. The goalposts keep changing too as Mepa is also taking this as an opportunity to bring other aspects of the stations up to scratch or to regularise them,” Ms Mamo said. “There does not seem to be any sense of urgency because there are years left but we want to make it clear that there could be delays with permits and that the changeover needs to be done in a planned way. There will be problems if everyone leaves it too late.”
The GRTU has sent its study, which was conducted by an auditor, to the MRA and is awaiting guidance.