An LNG tanker to be used at the new power station in Delimara will begin its voyage to Malta in the coming days, after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat presided over its sailing-away ceremony in Singapore. 

The Armada LNG Mediterrana was converted for use at the power station over 17 months and is expected to arrive in Malta in September, the Office of the Prime Minister said in a statement. 

Dr Muscat said the project would "complete the turnaround of Malta's energy sector" and ensure electricity prices remained low. 

Minister without portfolio Konrad Mizzi, also in Singapore alongside Dr Muscat, said the project was a "world-class" one, with it having been lauded by the European Commission. 

Photo: DOI/Jeremy Wonnacott

AD: QUESTIONS REMAIN UNANSWERED  

Alternattiva Demokratikain a statement said the necessary studies for the ship's operations in Marsaxlokk Bay have not been answered yet.  

Carmel Cacopardo, deputy chairman, said these studies were a requirement of the EU's Seveso Directives, which are aimed at protecting residents from industrial and environmental disasters.

"We are still awaiting the publication of these studies as well as the reports on maritime safety in Marsaxlokk Bay. In particular we are awaiting the studies carried out on the impacts which the stationary gas tanker will have on the current commercial activity (the Freeport) at the port, as well as on the fishing community. To this one must add the impacts which the gas supplies to the tanker, around eight times per year, will have on the operation of the Port of Marsaxlokk," he said. 

"It would have been much better if, instead of engaging itself in theatrics in Singapore, the government explained how it intends to address these immensely important issues," he added.