The government has decided to temporarily lend, free of charge, a large portion of land in Delimara to the private developers of the new gas-fired power station, Times of Malta has learnt.
Enemalta sources said the decision to bypass the technical requirements for leasing government property to the new private developers was intended to speed up the development of the €320 million project, which the government wants up and running by March.
Although no physical work has started yet on the massive project, the government is still insisting it is proceeding according to schedule.
There is no requirement for parliamentary approval
A spokesman for the Energy Ministry confirmed the government had decided to lend the Delimara site to Electrogas. He said this was only being done on a temporary basis because a formal lease contract had still to be drawn up and signed between Enemalta and the private consortium.
“Enemalta will be granting the premises by title of sub-lease to the consortium,” the spokesman said.
“However, the premises have been temporarily granted to the consortium by title of commodatum, for a definite period,” the spokesman said.
This type of title is resorted to when granting a piece of property free of charge so that third parties can make use of it for a definite period and according to certain conditions.
Enemalta sources told Times of Malta the temporary title was necessary so that the consortium could carry out important tests on the geology of the site to make sure the development could carry on.
The sources added that a legal due diligence exercise was under way by Enemalta experts to make sure the transfer of the land to the private entity did not appear as some form of State aid, which is barred by EU laws.
Asked whether the transfer of land to the consortium would require the approval of a specific parliamentary motion – as is normally the case – the government spokesman said the procedure did not apply to Enemalta.
“There is no requirement for parliamentary approval since the possibility of Enemalta subletting or allowing others to use the land is already specifically provided for,” he said.
Until now, the government has always refused to publish the contents of the 18-year contract signed between Enemalta and Electrogas.
The Opposition has been calling for the publication of the contract. However, the government has refused even though it promised that all the details would be published at the appropriate time. The contract between Enemalta and Electrogas was signed behind closed doors in May.
According to Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi all four shareholders in the consortium – the UK’s Gasol, Azerbaijan’s Socar, Siemens and local consortium GEM holdings – have put pen to paper on the contract.
He had confirmed that the government had not yet received the €30 million upfront payment due on the signing of the contract and said that the money would be transferred in a staggered manner according to the reduction in the energy tariffs.
Before the election Joseph Muscat had promised that the new gas-fired power station would start producing energy within 24 months from the election of Labour to power.