The agreement between Enemalta and Shanghai Electric does not stipulate by what date the new Chinese owners of Delimara’s BWSC power plant will convert it to work on natural gas.
Neither does the agreement give a deadline for Shanghai to deposit the €250 million it has agreed to pay for its 33 per cent stake in the energy company (€100 million) and 90 per cent shareholding in the plant (€150 million) under the agreement.
Last Sunday, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the payment would be made by the end of the year.
The payment would be made by the end of the year
The agreement, published last week, also fails to mention how much energy the plant is expected to provide Enemalta to produce electricity, and at what price. At the same time, however, the contract precludes D3 Generation Limited (the company that owns the plant) from supplying energy to third parties.
A few weeks ago, the government announced a postponement of energy production through LNG from the original target date of March 2015 to June 2016.
However, there was no mention of this in the deal struck with the Chinese state entity. The published agreement states that the Chinese have committed themselves to convert the plant to work with LNG but they are not bound by a specific time frame.
“D3 shall make the necessary investment to convert Delimara from heavy fuel oil to gas. D3 shall be responsible for the conversion, operation and maintenance of Delimara in accordance with any agreements with Enemalta and/or ancillary agreements thereto, the network code and applicable laws.”
The contract also fails to mention how much money the Chinese are expected to invest in this conversion and when the project must start and finish.
The contract says that although the Chinese now own the former BWSC plant, it will still be managed and operated by Enemalta “until the commencement of the conversion”.
Questions were sent to the Energy Ministry but no replies had been received by last night about the planned conversion date and why this was not specified in the contract, as is the norm.
Times of Malta also asked why payment was not made upon signature of the contract and whether it stipulates staggered payments by the Chinese government.