The Auditor General should investigate the sudden departure of the lead contractor in the new power station as this raised issues of professionalism, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said yesterday.

Dr Busuttil was backing a call made by outspoken government MP Marlene Farrugia who on Saturday questioned the credibility of the consortium behind the development.

“How can we be sure this ‘consortium of the confused’ will deliver what we need,” she wrote on her personal Facebook account.

Lead contractor Gasol’s exit from the project was announced on Friday following reports that the company was facing financial difficulty.

Consortium Electrogas, however, played down the departure, describing it as a restructuring process aimed at “consolidating the company’s structure”.

Speaking on Radio 101, Dr Busuttil said, usually, government tenders were dropped when the composition of the winning bidder changed and not because it was not in a strong enough financial position to follow through on the deal.

This whole matter, he said, raised issues of how due diligence was made before the contract was awarded and if this was to blame for the departure.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the government was committed to deliver on its promise to convert electricity production from heavy fuel to gas. Dr Muscat said Gasol’s exit would not affect the timeline of the project. “This project will occur as planned,” he said.