With only nine months left to build the gas power station, the company behind it insists the job is on track, with site inspections set to start next week.
Project coordinator Michael Kunz from Gasol, the lead company in the consortium building the plant, said the timeline set out by the government would be met.
He said design and planning related to geo-technical work – subsurface studies of the ground to determine how the foundations will be built – was complete and he expected engineers to make physical inspections next week.
Concerns over the timeline stem from what appears to be no visible work being carried out yet on the Delimara site, where the power plant, a re-gassificator unit and jetty are to be built.
The apparent lack of progress has left many wondering whether the project will be completed by next March as originally promised.
“The timelines for the infrastructure works and completion of the project, including the floating storage unit, are unchanged and remain feasible,” Mr Kunz told Times of Malta.
The Energy Ministry also said the power and gas project was progressing as scheduled: “The project will be delivered in line with the Enemalta business plan.”
But Mr Kunz also quashed concerns over Gasol’s financial state after the company announced last week it was de-listing from the London Stock Exchange’s alternative investment market (AIM).
Gasol said it was unable to raise capital from institutional investors as there was little interest in committing funds to companies like it.
Asked whether this meant Gasol was encountering problems in acquiring finance for its Malta project, Mr Kunz insisted this was not the case.
“Gasol has not encountered any problems raising capital in respect of the Malta project and we are not aware of any other consortium members having any such issues,” he said.
‘No problems with finance’
Mr Kunz said the decision to seek shareholder approval to stop trading ordinary shares on the AIM had no impact on Gasol’s ability to fulfil its financial undertakings in respect of the Electrogas consortium or the LNG-to-power project for Malta.
“The de-listing will have no impact on the Malta project.”
Mr Kunz said in each of the previous two years the company had been successful in raising more than $50 million to fund its project requirements.
All these funds came from the bond market, strategic partners and other sources outside the AIM market.
“As a result, the board of directors determined that the costs, management time and regulatory burdens associated with maintaining an AIM listing would be better spent developing the company’s business opportunities, including the Malta project,” he said.
The Electrogas consortium also includes Socar, the Azerbaijan State oil company, Germany’s Siemens and Gem Holdings, which is made up of a group of Maltese investors that include Gasan and Tumas.
Last month the consortium entered into a share transfer agreement to purchase Enemalta’s subsidiary Malta Power and Gas, which initiated the planning process for the new power station.
However, Gasol was the only consortium partner to go public with its statement that it had acquired a 30 per cent stake in Malta Power and Gas, which will eventually be renamed Electrogas Malta.
This left open the question of whether the other consortium partners had actually acquired their shares when the agreement was signed behind closed doors.
Mr Kunz insisted the members of the consortium “acted in unison” with regard to the acquisition but did not elaborate.
Justifying the staggered payment of €30 million the consortium had been bound to make on signing, Mr Kunz said this had been done as stipulated by Enemalta.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com