Gasol’s sudden exit from the gas power station project has caught the eye of the National Audit Office, which is assessing the situation.
A call for investigation into Gasol’s departure from the Electrogas consortium was made on Friday by Labour MP Marlene Farrugia, followed by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil two days later.
While hinting it had a lot on its plate, having been recently asked to investigate some “extensive and complex” cases – such as the Gaffarena scandal – the NAO said it was monitoring developments linked to the power station project.
If the NAO does not initiate an investigation of its own accord, the Opposition will formally ask for it
“This office is closely monitoring the situation with a view of being in a position to take such a decision in due course,” the NAO said when asked whether it would investigate Gasol’s departure.
Nationalist MP Tonio Fenech, who chairs Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, said the Opposition would give the NAO time to assess the situation.
“If the NAO does not initiate an investigation of its own accord, the Opposition, through a written request signed by three members of the PAC, will formally ask for it,” Mr Fenech said.
‘Gasol was pushed from consortium’
In a statement last Friday, Electrogas described the change in shareholder composition as a restructuring process “aimed at consolidating the company’s structure”.
However, sources said Gasol was pushed out of the consortium by the three other partners, that include German engineering firm Siemens and Azerbaijani oil and gas company Socar, as a result of financial difficulties.
But the exit from the consortium just 19 months after winning the bid to build a liquefied natural gas terminal and power station at Delimara has raised questions on the adequacy of the due diligence conducted during the bidding process.
Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi had told Parliament in October last year that the financial strength of bidders was one of the assessment criteria during the evaluation process.
However, for some reason Gasol’s poor financial state was not picked up during the vetting process.
But Gasol’s departure has also raised questions on the legitimacy of allowing the winning consortium to change its composition so early in the day.
kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com