Skanska’s vitiated tests on the quality of the concrete used during Mater Dei Hospital’s construction were tantamount to fraud, Health Minister Konrad Mizzi said yesterday.
He promised that the government would fight the Swedish contractors “tooth and nail”.
Speaking on One Radio, Dr Mizzi said legal and technical teams headed by the Attorney General were working on the case and costings were expected to be concluded next month.
“In our opinion, this is a case of fraud because tests on the concrete were not carried out correctly. The concrete’s grade is that of pavements not of pillars.”
The minister was reacting to a Malta Today report stating that Skanska had written to the Attorney General rejecting responsibility for the weak concrete and declaring it will not meet the Attorney General to discuss the government’s claims for damages.
The concrete’s grade is that of pavements,not of pillars
Dr Mizzi expressed disappointment that the contract negotiated between Skanska and the previous government included a project closure agreement with a waiver on future claims. Skanska invoked that waiver to deny responsibility for a leaking reservoir and the former government had surrendered that claim, Dr Mizzi said.
“However, we will not back down and we will not throw in the towel as the former government did. We will fight tooth and nail to ensure that the taxpayer gets a fair deal,” he said. Remedial works to strengthen the hospital’s structure could well go beyond the €30 million initially estimated by international consultancy firm Arup, Dr Mizzi added.
He spoke of how the present government had solved the problem of out-of-stock medicines and how waiting lists for cataracts and MRIs had been slashed. However, waiting lists still plagued certain operations, such as knee and hip replacements.
“It is unfair for a pensioner to be constrained to live on the first floor due to a three-to-five-year wait for a knee replacement,” Dr Mizzi said.
Health Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne said since last month, the government had entered into a public-private partnership with St James Hospital to perform surgeries of an “intermediate” nature [day cases] using Mater Dei surgeons. As of next month, this would be extended to major operations such as hip and knee replacements.
Mr Fearne referred to the new wing being built at Mater Dei, which will eventually offer almost 300 new beds.
He pledged that, by September next year, patients would no longer be treated in corridors and announced that a casualty unit for children would open shortly at Mater Dei. It would comprise five cubicles and be equipped with its own reception and set-up.
Dr Mizzi said all workers at Gozo and St Luke’s hospitals would stay on the government payroll once private management started. Their collective agreements would remain.