Updated - Adds government reaction - The Opposition has called for the publication of all contracts related to the building of the new power station and the partial privatisation of Enemalta, ahead of Wednesday's Parliamentary debate on the agreement signed last week with Shanghai Electric Power.
This deal will see the Chinese company acquire a 33 per cent stake in Enemalta, in return for a €320 million cash injection.
Addressing a news conference at the party headquarters, PN deputy leader Mario de Marco said that the Opposition could not hold the debate, without knowing the bigger picture.
For this reason he called for the publication of the agreement for the purchase of the BWSC plant by Shanghai Electric Power, Enemalta's seven-year business plan, the power purchase agreement signed with China, the Electrogas agreement for the new power station, and the power purchase agreement with Electrogas.
Dr De Marco also noted that the agreement signed last week with Shanghai Electric Power lacked any timeframes on the conversion of the BWSC plant to gas or the payments due to the Maltese government.
He also pointed out that the agreement made no reference to the future of the corporation's employees.
The PN deputy leader also urged the Prime Minister to explain the purpose of his visit to Azerbaijan, saying that the people only learnt of this visit through the media.
GOVERNMENT REACTION
In a reaction, the Energy Ministry said that after days of silence, the Opposition had not said a positive word on the agreement with Shanghai Electric, which had saved Enemalta and would have a major positive impact on the economy.
The Opposition spoke as if commercial details were published when it was in government, when that was not the case.
It was the present government which had published the Energy Sector Cooperation and Investment Agreement signed between Enemalta, Shanghai Electric, SEP Malta Holding Ltd and the government.
The Opposition was ignoring the fact that the Power Purchase Agreement in the context of a number of operators, was a commercial agreement.
The details already released showed that Enemalta was not obliged to buy its minimum requirements 'from Delimara 3.'
The ministry said the government has already given the timelines for the conversion of the power stations to gas.
Furthermore, the future of the Enemalta workers was guaranteed when they were transferred to Engineering Resources Ltd under their existing conditions. The danger for those workers would have come had Enemalta continued to be run in the same way as it was under the previous government.