No date has yet been set for the completion of Valletta’s new parliament building, with the government now waiting for the contractors to come up with a fresh plan to reduce the delay.
The building was supposed to have been ready in time for the opening of the new session of Parliament on October 13, following the summer recess, but the House of Representatives will have to stay at the Palace for now, Speaker Anġlu Farrugia said on Wednesday.
Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, chairman of the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation which is overseeing this project, said yesterday he was not in a position to give a new deadline, even when asked if the project would be completed by the end of the year.
Once the building is ready, there would still be the need to test all the equipment, train the staff and ensure that everything is up to the specifications listed in the contract, he said.
We bent over backwards to make life easier for the contractors but for some reason they still failed to meet the target
Times of Malta was yesterday granted access to the site, having requested it two weeks ago, and it was evident that finishing works are considerably behind schedule. While some parts are not yet clad in the stone being quarried from Qala, other sections of the building lack internal finishes such as furniture, soffits, partitions and sanitary facilities. Work on the mechanical and electrical plant, lifts, audio visual system and security system have still not been completed.
As for the plenary chamber, there is no sign yet of the chairs, desks and media facilities.
According to an agreement signed on August 15, the contractors had bound themselves to complete all the offices by the end of last month. Both sides also agreed that the finishing works on the facade facing St James Cavalier would be completed by the end of October.
Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi said the corporation had been monitoring works on a daily basis and a schedule had been set out to ensure the deadline would be met.
“We bent over backwards to make life easier for the contractors but for some reason they still failed to meet the target,” he said.
According to Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi the original completion date of November 2012 was not realistic, as the project evolved along the way.
On the other hand, he argued that works could have been delayed by the fact that, contrary to the usual practice in Malta, contractors had to come up with certain designs in the initial stages to meet the specifications set in the Piano design.
There was also a continuous shortage of stone, which was used in very large quantities both internally and externally.
The whole project has been dogged by delays from the very start. Designed by world renowned architect Renzo Piano, the €80 million project includes the new Valletta entrance, the open theatre on the remains of the Royal Opera House and the parliament building. The completion date was repeatedly postponed as works fell behind schedule. On Wednesday, the government said that a €20,000 daily fine, capped at €2 million, had been imposed on the contractors for failing to complete works by the deadline.
The consortium of contractors, BIB J.V., is made up of Attard Brothers, Panta Contracting, Fino, Ballut Blocks, Blockrete and Alberta.
Meanwhile, the House Business Committee is due to meet on October 13, when Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi and a representative from the Infrastructure Ministry, which is politically responsible for the project, will brief Parliament on the latest developments.