Residents in the Ħal Mula area in Żebbuġ are breathing a sigh of relief this Christmas as the contractor edges closer towards completing their roads after initially insisting on being paid for work already carried out.
Some 4,000 residents were furious that roadworks had stalled, forcing them to live in dust and mud for weeks on end. They have been complaining that the remaining roads are making the area look like a “war zone” and the dust was leading to eye infections and respiratory problems such as asthma.
Żebbuġ mayor Alfred Grixti confirmed yesterday that the contractor resumed work last week and was expected to carry on this week.
However, in view of the “ups and downs” that the council had to face because of problems with the contractor, Mr Grixti was cautious.
“I don’t want to count my chickens and I will not say they’re ready until I actually see them ready. This project was a saga and the council wants to see an end to it,” he said when contacted yesterday.
He said work began to move again last week after the contractor, Bonnici Brothers, was served with a default notice, “with all the implications this has”.
It’s been an uphill struggle for the council over this public-private partnership contract to resurface 18 roads in the area.
The €700,000 contract was signed in January last year but work only started last July. Work then continued in fits and starts as a dispute raged between the council and contractor over payment and the Local Government Department was asked to intervene.
Mr Grixti said that in summer the council gave the contractor an advance payment of €110,000 “on the clear understanding that he would finish off the roads still outstanding by the end of October”.
But the contractor failed to fulfil the programme of works established and still has four roads outstanding, according to the mayor.
After an offer on how the balance would be paid, the contractor is now expected to finish off two roads while the remaining two will be dealt with after the festive season as they have not yet been dug up.
When contacted, a spokesman for Bonnici Brothers said the company had no comment to make.