Work on the project to build a power station and a liquefied natural gas terminal has fallen behind schedule.

Electrogas has confirmed that construction on its new gas power station was delayed because of “technical” talks with Enemalta and Shanghai Electric.

Company spokesman Michael Kunz, who is coordinating the project, said the three-way talks were “a fundamental step” to ensure the success of the project.

He did not elaborate but said work on the project to build a power station and a liquefied natural gas terminal had fallen behind schedule and would not be completed by March next year as originally envisaged by the government.

Mr Kunz said the talks were of a technical and planning nature. “All parties involved need to have a common understanding and agreement on how the different processes in the value chain will work together to ensure compatibility and efficiency in the entire LNG-to-power-generation process.”

Although the construction of the new power station is a standalone project that will be fired by gas from the LNG terminal, Electrogas will also supply gas to the existing BWSC plant.

Under the terms of a deal the government is expected to enter into with Shanghai Electric, the Chinese firm will take a majority stake in the BWSC plant, which it will convert to run on gas rather than heavy fuel oil.

Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi said earlier this week the tripartite talks were aimed at ironing out technical issues to ensure the interface between the Electrogas project and the BWSC conversion was as smooth as possible.

He added that this also impinged on the financial aspect since Electrogas had to have clear time frames for contracting LNG supplies to ensure gas was available at the same time the BWSC plant was up and running.

There is little visible work at the Delimara site apart from a mound of rubble where the regassificator should be built. The site has been levelled off and compacted.

Dr Mizzi has said important preliminary survey works were conducted throughout the summer as part of the site assessment.

The government is insisting the delay is only a matter of months not years and deadlines will be made public at the end of November when the talks should have ended.

Asked about a new timeline, Mr Kunz avoided a direct answer. “We continue to ensure that the project is in line with our agreements with Enemalta and that we are committed to delivering a safe, clean and reliable solution to Enemalta.”