The contractor who carried out embellishment works on the St Paul’s Bay promenade has already been informed of ‘damage’ in the works and will be carrying out the necessary repairs, the Malta Tourism Authority said.
In a statement this morning, the Labour Party’s St Paul’s Bay sectional committee and councillors said that holes have started to appear along and beyond a long stretch of the paving.
The project, co-financed through European Union Structural Funds, was inaugurated on September 6.
The committee and councillors said the damages were appearing in spite of the fact that the completed works have been certified by the competent authorities.
They said that besides the holes, rust was also covering part of the railings.
In a reply, the MTA said the 'damage' brought to the public's attention consisted of minor blemishes in two or three particular spots.
“The damage being referred to may well be deemed to be minor, seeing as the embellished promenade is over a kilometre in length,” it said.
The MTA said that this notwithstanding, the bars and slabs in question had already been noted by the authority.
“The small blemishes probably became noticeable after a few storms and heavy showers.
“The completed works are still considered to be in a probationary (defects liability) period, with the contractor in question still liable to replace and/or repair any unsatisfactory items.
“A part of the full payment due to the contractor is retained as a guarantee in this respect. The contractor was already informed of these issues and will be making the necessary repairs forthwith.”
The MTA said that the architects in charge have already prepared a ‘snag list’ and are monitoring the contractor to ensure that these snags are rectified. This period may extend for more than a year after the project has been completed.
It said that a provisional acceptance certificate will only be issued once the architects are satisfied that these snags have been remedied.
Moreover, there is a specific guarantee that extended beyond the defects liability period and any latent defects appearing in future would still be required to be rectified by the contractor.
A final acceptance certificate will only be issued after five years from the issuing of the provisional acceptance certificate.
In their statements, the PL councillors and committee members stated that there was a lack of maintenance.
But the MTA said this was not the case since the contractor has not only been carrying out remedial works, as instructed, but has also carried out numerous repair interventions to damage inflicted through vandalism – particularly in the projecting balcony area.
The conditions involving EU Structural Funds stipulate that maintenance works for such a project must be guaranteed for a period of five years.
The St Paul's Bay council shall be assuming this responsibility once the project is completed, with the assistance of the MTA.
“The MTA has always strived to ensure that all such projects undertaken by the authority are maintained to be best possible standards. Recent and past experience in this regard is ample evidence of this fact,” it said.
The contractor who carried out embellishment works on the St Paul’s Bay promenade has already been informed of ‘damage’ in the works and will be carrying out the necessary repairs, the Malta Tourism Authority said.
In a statement this morning, the Labour Party’s St Paul’s Bay sectional committee and councillors said that holes have started to appear along and beyond a long stretch of the paving.
The project, co-financed through European Union Structural Funds, was inaugurated on September 6.
The committee and councillors said the damages were appearing in spite of the fact that the completed works have been certified by the competent authorities.
They said that besides the holes, rust was also covering part of the railings.
In a reply, the MTA said the 'damage' brought to the public's attention consisted of minor blemishes in two or three particular spots.
“The damage being referred to may well be deemed to be minor, seeing as the embellished promenade is over a kilometre in length,” it said.
The MTA said that this notwithstanding, the bars and slabs in question had already been noted by the authority.
“The small blemishes probably became noticeable after a few storms and heavy showers.
“The completed works are still considered to be in a probationary (defects liability) period, with the contractor in question still liable to replace and/or repair any unsatisfactory items.
“A part of the full payment due to the contractor is retained as a guarantee in this respect. The contractor was already informed of these issues and will be making the necessary repairs forthwith.”
The MTA said that the architects in charge have already prepared a ‘snag list’ and are monitoring the contractor to ensure that these snags are rectified. This period may extend for more than a year after the project has been completed.
It said that a provisional acceptance certificate will only be issued once the architects are satisfied that these snags have been remedied.
Moreover, there is a specific guarantee that extended beyond the defects liability period and any latent defects appearing in future would still be required to be rectified by the contractor.
A final acceptance certificate will only be issued after five years from the issuing of the provisional acceptance certificate.
In their statements, the PL councillors and committee members stated that there was a lack of maintenance.
But the MTA said this was not the case since the contractor has not only been carrying out remedial works, as instructed, but has also carried out numerous repair interventions to damage inflicted through vandalism – particularly in the projecting balcony area.
The conditions involving EU Structural Funds stipulate that maintenance works for such a project must be guaranteed for a period of five years.
The St Paul's Bay council shall be assuming this responsibility once the project is completed, with the assistance of the MTA.
“The MTA has always strived to ensure that all such projects undertaken by the authority are maintained to be best possible standards. Recent and past experience in this regard is ample evidence of this fact,” it said.