The restoration of the Citadel in Gozo has so far exceeded the budget by almost €3.3 million, the Times of Malta has learnt.

Documents show variations of almost 23 per cent in payments to individual contractors engaged in the €14.5 million project, launched in 2011.

Sources close to the project said some of the variations were due to ‘surprises’ encountered during excavation works.

Questions sent to the Gozo Ministry to explain divergences in the value of the contracts awarded by the government remained unanswered by the time of writing.

The sources said all payments beyond the budget would have to come from the Exchequer, as the European Union would only pay its share according to the original agreement. The works related to the square is where budgeting went really wrong, costing more than €1.6 million above what was originally budgeted, the sources said.

The three contracts related to this aspect of the project, which involved reconstruction of paths, the square itself and surrounding roads, cost €1,046,987, €519,266 and €35,098 more than projected, they added. The job was done by Road Construction Limited.

The government said €1.1 million claimed to have been lost had been diverted to other projects

Costs also spiralled out of control on the works related to the upgrade and restoration of reservoirs underneath the Citadel. Disused reservoirs were transformed into a visitors’ centre, and this included the purchasing and installation of audio-visual and interpretation equipment. The overrun here amounted to €1.3 million and the contractor was Camray Company Ltd, the sources said.

Remains unearthed during excavation works exposed the original entrance to the Citadel. The gateway, thought to date to the beginning of the 17th century, leads to a passageway partly consisting of globigerina blocks and cut into the soft, greensand rock.

Ongoing works at the Citadel.

Also unearthed was the end part of a sally port, an underground passageway that led from the Citadel to a ditch, which the British later filled up with rubble.

The ‘consolidation’ of this find cost almost €58,100 and was entrusted to Acropolis Joint Venture, bringing the total value of the contract to €424,000, according to the sources.

The budget for the restoration job, entrusted to Gaulos Conservation, spiralled by almost €100,000. This included restoration works on the Citadel, including the facades of the law courts, the governor’s palace, the old prison, the National History Museum and St Joseph’s chapel, among others.

Work on the ditch, also handled by Road Construction Limited, cost €113,000 more than had been planned. Lighting costs also exceeded the budget by almost €70,000, the sources said.

The design, supply, installation and commissioning of the energy-efficient lighting system at the Citadel was contracted to Richard Cauchi.

Earlier this year, the government denied a Times of Malta report that delays in the execution of the project had led to the loss of at least 10 per cent of EU funds allocated to the project.

It said that the €1.1 million claimed to have been ‘lost’ had been “diverted” to other projects.