The Naxxar local council has been ordered to pay the remaining balance for the embellishment of Victory Square more than 14 years after it was completed.

A judge ruled that the council had to pay a contractor just over €17,100 after throwing out its complaints about the quality of the work.

Victory Square at Naxxar. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

The First Hall of the Civil Court, presided over by Madam Justice Lorraine Schembri Orland, gave weight to the conclusions of a court-appointed expert who gave the work his approval.

Stencil Pave (Malta) Limited took the matter to court after the council paid almost €21,000, just over half what was owed.

The project included the construction of a paved plateau, a raised zebra crossing and resurfacing works.

The court heard the council was refusing to pay the balance complaining about the quality of the work, that the coloured asphalt used lost its hue within days and objecting to the colour of the stencilling used on the tarmac.

Stencil Pave (Malta) Limited director Arthur Farrugia told the court his company had won the contract and the work had to be carried out within a month because of the local council elections. The project was, in fact completed on Election Day – March 9, 2000 – and was inaugurated two days later.

He said the work was done by his company’s employees and by Maltese and German subcontractors, under the constant supervision of teams of architects representing his company and the council. There were no complaints about the work until a few months later when the council queried the colour of the stencilling and the fact that the newly-paved square was opened to traffic before it was given time to settle.

Executive secretary Paul Gatt said the asphalt colour was washed away within a few days. He said the council had not been informed by the contractor that the road had to remain closed for days to allow enough time for the new paving to settle.

The court also heard of a divergence of opinion over the extent of the final bill after the company’s architects and those representing the council came up with different figures. Discussions were held and an amount was set, with the council paying almost half of it.

Madam Justice Schembri Orland appointed court expert Joseph Ellul Vincenti to draw up a report on the work carried out from a technical point of view. He agreed with the amount reached following the discussions between the architects and concluded that the council’s complaints on the work had not been sustained.

The judge, therefore, ordered the council to pay Stencil Pave (Malta) Limited €17,107.29, representing the remaining balance.

In a separate but related case, Stencil Pave (Malta) Limited was ordered to pay subcontractor V&C Contractors Limited €14,565 for the work it had carried out on the project.