The government has assembled a legal team and is preparing to send legal letters to Skanska in connection with the weak concrete found at Mater Dei Hospital, Energy and Health Minister Konrad Mizzi said in parliament this evening.

Swedish firm Skanska was the lead contractor in the building of the hospital.

Replying to questions by Nationalist MPs Jason Azzopardi, Claudio Grech and Beppe Fenech Adami, the minister said that despite the waiver clause in the contract between Skanska and the Foundation for Medical Services (FMS), the government saw this as an issue of fraud, and therefore not covered by the waiver.

The concrete had been certified as being up to standard when it was not, and the way it was tested was vitiated, Dr Mizzi said.

He said the legal team is being led by the Attorney General and includes people from several law firms. Dossiers were being prepared for a series of claims to be made to Skanska. The cost estimates for repairs throughout the hospital were also being updated.

Dr Mizzi said the government had spoken at the political level with the Swedish prime minister and the authorities had also spoken with Skanska, which referred the issue to its legal team.

Malta was now in the process of submitting a judicial letter and other legal documents.

Asked whether the government was now saying it could sue Skanska after first blasting the former government about the waiver, Dr Mizzi said the waiver remained a scandal. There were actually two waivers, one related to the project closure agreement, which was necessary, and the other which was not needed.

Unfortunately, in 2011, when a hospital reservoir sprang a leak because of weak concrete and the FMS complained, Skanska referred to the second waiver, and the Maltese government let the matter rest.

The present government was attacking the validity of that waiver and could take action because the issue here was fraud. There was no doubt, however, that it would be an upward struggle.

“We will fight this tooth and nail, we want a hospital up to the standards we paid for,” Dr Mizzi said.

He also said that the police had found new evidence about how the testing of concrete was made. The people were carried out the testing were known.

Dr Mizzi said the government had no problem in keeping the Opposition informed of developments.

Mario de Marco (PN) asked the minister to confirm that law firm Camilleri Preziosi at the time when the agreement was signed had advised that the waiver did not prejudice cases of latent defects or bad workmanship.

Dr Mizzi said the inquiry had established that the waiver clause had not been needed in the first place. He confirmed he had met Camilleri Preziosi lawyers.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Asked by Jason Azzopardi (PN) whether he was aware of a conflict of interest in that a director of one of the bidders for the recent €200m contract for St Luke's and Gozo Hospital, BSP, was also a member of the FMS in a clear conflict of interest.

The minister said it had been ascertained that no connection existed between the preferred bidder and the FMS.

It was found that the director of a company which was not selected had a short-term project management agreement with the FMS.  

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