Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi is expected to give a statement in Parliament on Wednesday about the delay in completion of the new gas plant in Delimara, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this morning.

Dr Mizzi is currently in China, where he is having talks with Shanghai Electric, which is to take a minority shareholding in Enemalta.

Dr Muscat reiterated that while the completion of the new power station had been delayed for a few months because of talks between Enemalta, Shanghai Electric and Electrogas - who will build it - power tariffs for businesses would still go down in March.

The delay of a couple of months was insignificant in the context of the wider process to restore the financial sustainability of Enemalta while giving Malta a stable and clean energy supply, he said.

The Opposition in a statement yesterday said the government should explain the delay since it had been saying that the project was on track, and the completion of the power station within two years was a major election promise.