Opposition MPs this evening walked out of parliament in protest as Minister Konrad Mizzi rose to reply to questions on the energy sector following a ministerial statement on the Paris Climate Change Convention.

The statement was given by Environment Minister Jose' Herrera, who spoke about Malta's efforts to reduce emissions and improve air quality. Among other things, he highlighted the government's energy policy and also said the Environment Authority was working on an air quality masterplan.

A number of Opposition MPs asked Dr Herrera questions relating to the power station gas tanker, including whether he had seen the risk assessment report and what his views about it were.

Shadow minister Marthese Portelli said that notwithstanding the lack of an IPPC permit (the permit for the power station to operate), the tanker was being allowed to anchor at Marsaxlokk bay and a public consultation on the permit would now be held. Surely, she said, the consultation should have been held before the tanker arrived. 

Dr Herrera said the procedure that was being followed was set by law, and it was the same procedure followed before the BWSC plant was commissioned. 

He referred technical questions to minister Konrad Mizzi. 

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil insisted that since the minister responsible for energy was the Prime Minister, it was Dr Muscat who should address the House.

Mr Speaker pointed out that a minister could call upon any cabinet colleague to continue answering questions following a parliamentary statement.

Dr Busuttil said that the Opposition did not acknowledge the legitimacy of a minister who was found to have a secret Panama company, and it was therefore walking out of the Chamber. 

In his comments, Dr Mizzi said all documents related to the new power station would be tabled. He insisted the gas tanker would be in Marsaxlokk for the medium term. 

Work was being carried out to establish the 155Km route of the gas pipeline which would link Gela to Marsascala and then by tunnel to Delimara. The process would be finalised by the middle of next year, after which the government would apply for the necessary permits in Malta and Italy.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.