The land where the Labour Party is proposing to put two gas storage tanks at Delimara should not pose a problem, according to a former Enemalta chairman.

Architect Joe Ellul Vincenti said yesterday that as long as the tanks were built correctly, the land in question was not problematic since other areas of the Delimara power station were built on reclaimed land.

Mr Ellul Vincenti was appointed Enemalta chairman in the early 1990s by a Nationalist Administration and his statement contradicts a concern raised by another former company chairman who said the land in question could pose problems.

Mr Ellul Vincenti made the statement under the tent in Ta’ Giorni where Labour leader Joseph Muscat was being interviewed by Simone Cini and Robert Musumeci.

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech had raised doubts about the location identified in Labour’s plans for the two large storage tanks and insisted an additional expense of €40 million was needed to stabilise the reclaimed land.

Mr Ellul Vincenti said there were other areas on the same site where the tanks could be located, pointing out that parts of the old Delimara power station were built on reclaimed land.

Dr Muscat thanked the former chairman and said what he said was “triple valid” because he was an architect, a former Enemalta head and had been appointed by the Eddie Fenech Adami Administration.

He reiterated his party was still an underdog in this election because the Nationalist Party was using its power of incumbency to dish out permits and promotions.

“People should take what is offered to them but I trust that people will, in the anonymity of the polling booth, do what is right.”

ksansone@timesofmalta.com