A gas pipeline between Malta and Sicily would cost €290 million, not €700 million as claimed by Labour leader Joseph Muscat, according to the Finance Ministry.

Reacting to a comment Dr Muscat made during a TV debate, the ministry said the price of the 150-kilometre long pipeline was laid out clearly by the technical proposal that was issued as a brief for the feasibility study tender. An estimate of a narrower pipeline put the figure even lower, at €230 million.

The ministry said the €1.12 billion in EU funds negotiated by the Prime Minister included €63 million allocated to the gas pipeline, meaning up to 30 per cent of the cost would be forked out by the EU.

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