The Environmental Impact Assessment for the gas-fired power station is unsatisfactory as it still lacks the required details, according to Din l-Art Ħelwa.

The NGO said it had received the draft EIS for the new Delimara power plant for review but pointed out to the planning authority that it cannot be considered complete until further details of this major project are made available for assessment.

An EIS should ensure that both the authorities and the public are fully aware of the environmental implications of a project before a decision is made, DLĦ said.

The EIS report acknowledges that, as the operator of the new power plant has not yet been selected, the level of detail available for assessment is limited.

For example, the report does not contain satisfactory information about the amount of land reclamation, excavation and dredging that will be required.

Some consultants express a low level of confidence in their own predictions due to a lack of data, the NGO said.

The report does not evaluate any technological alternatives, and does not present a clear comparative assessment of the environmental impacts of the three proposed layouts.

When built, the 200MW gas-fired power plant will run alongside the recently inaugurated Delimara power station extension, which will be converted to run on gas.