An Italian firm, which has been reported to be in a dire financial state, has been selected to dismantle the old Delimara power station, including its 150-metre chimney, Enemalta said this morning.
The announcement comes days after The Sunday Times of Malta reported that Enemalta would be awarding the €2 million contract to an Italian company undergoing legal bankruptcy procedures.
Following a rigorous adjudication process, the submissions of the Italian company General Smontaggi were recommended as the best offer for this project, the company said.
Enemalta is continuing the decommissioning and dismantling of its old, HFO-fired plants at Marsa and Marsaxlokk as part of its plan for the development of an efficient, environment-friendly electricity generation mix.
The bidder was selected by Enemalta in collaboration with the relevant government procurement authorities to dismantle the 1992 HFO-fired plant at the Delimara power station.
The process was concluded as soon as the objection period ended and the relevant authorities confirmed that none of the bidders had filed any objections or requests to reconsider the award recommendation.
During the tendering process all bidders were specifically asked to demonstrate extensive experience in the demolition of high structures, to make sure they have the technical capability and resources to safely demolish the plant's chimney.
The Sunday Times of Malta had reported that the award of this contract goes against the rules indicated in the conditions of the tender, as the Italian company is in a dire financial state.
Established in 1984, the recommended bidder has over 30 years experience in the decommissioning and dismantling of industrial plants, using an extensive fleet of demolition machinery. The company has been entrusted with plant dismantling projects by some of Europe's largest energy and manufacturing companies.
Enemalta architects, engineers and project managers will be supervising the contractor to ensure that the dismantling works do not compromise the security of other electricity generation and distribution infrastructure within the Delimara site.
The 1992 Delimara Power Station Phase 1 plant includes two HFO-fired conventional boilers feeding two 60 MW turbo alternator steam turbines, a chimney and other auxiliary equipment. The chimney, a 12-metre diameter concrete and steel construction rising 150 metres above ground level, is the highest structure in Malta. The reinforced concrete chimney walls are over two metres thick at the bottom and 0.6 metres on top.
The dismantling of the Delimara 1 plant will begin as soon as the new gas-fired plant is commissioned and the HFO-fired Delimara 3 plant is fully-converted to run on natural gas.
At this stage, Enemalta will have the necessary capacity to provide the country with an adequate level of security of supply while ending the use of heavy fuel oil for electricity generation.
Once the gas-fired plants are in full operation, Enemalta will also continue the dismantling of the remaining plants at the Marsa power station. Some of these plants are still being kept on cold standby for security of supply during emergencies. In the meantime, during the first months of 2017 Enemalta said it will continue the dismantling of the Marsa station plants that are no longer on cold standby.