Certification of concrete used at Mater Dei Hospital was “fraudulent” because the material was not up to standard and Swedish construction company Skanska must shoulder responsibility, an inquiry has found.

A board of inquiry headed by retired judge Philip Sciberras said it had enough evidence to determine that tests provided by the contractor were fraudulent.

“Considering the extent of the defective concrete found on site, it is evident that such a defect could not be the result of a genuine mistake or failure of oversight but must have been the result of a concerted effort from which the contractor, suppliers and possible third parties benefited,” it concluded.

However, the board said no evidence identifying any particular individual had emerged and strongly felt the authorities should investigate further.

It, therefore, recommended that the findings should be handed over to the Commissioner of Police, the Attorney General and, possibly, the Auditor General to advise the government on any possible criminal and legal action.

The board of inquiry was asked by the government to look into the scandal that surfaced in August last year when it emerged that concrete below the required standard had been used in the building of the new hospital. Last month, the government said remedial works to strengthen the affected areas would cost more than €30 million.

Such a defect could not be the result of a genuine mistake

The inquiry report was tabled in Parliament last night by Health Minister Konrad Mizzi after addressing a press conference about it.

The report remarked that “it seemed” that most of the concrete had been supplied by Mixer Limited between February and May 1996, even though Blokrete Limited, Devlands Limited and Magħtab Construction had also supplied concrete for the project.

It transpired that four out of five samples of concrete that were supposedly taken at random to be tested by an independent body had in reality been tested by the contractor himself. Though the fifth sample was examined by the Works Department and Malta University Services, the process was nevertheless flawed because the sample had been supplied by the contractor.

The inquiry was critical of Ortesa, which had designed and supervised works in the early stages, the Foundation of Medical Services and Sciences, today known as the Foundation for Medical Services, the project management office (a joint venture between MUS and the Works Division) as well as the government itself.

These entities “knew or should have known of the various shortcomings in the execution of works, however failed to act in a diligent manner as reasonably and objectively expected of them and whose actions bordered on gross negligence”, the inquiry remarked.

The report flagged a number of shortcomings that had been indicated to FMSS in 1996. It quoted a report by Bovis Europe, in July of that year, which had raised concerns that “quality standards and control do not appear to meet the requirement of such an important project”. They noted that “bad practices in concrete placing had been noted which could lead to durability problems”.

Foundation ‘passive’ in the face of warnings

The inquiry also referred to a confidential report prepared by Works Division director Vince Cassar, an architect, in September 1996. He had expressed his “preoccupation” on “poor quality and workmanship” and warned that if no action would be taken there was a risk of ending up with a building with rampant maintenance problems.

Ortesa had complained that the quality of works in many areas was “not acceptable”. Later, they had suggested demolishing 13 columns but the project management office had deemed such measure excessive, saying only three columns could be demolished and the rest would be paid for at a reduced rate of 75 per cent.

The inquiry board noted that the FMS, chaired by the then health minister Louis Galea, “had remained passive” in front of such warnings.

The board expressed “serious concerns” that certain statements made under oath left a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, including allegations of political intervention in the choice of concrete suppliers, corruption and suggestions of possible fraudulent acts in the conclusions of the project closure agreement.

It was also very critical of a waiver clause in a project closure agreement signed on February 19, 2009 which exonerated Skanska from any future claims. It said that, two years later, such clause prevented the FMS from seeking compensation from Skanska when part of a water reservoir was leaking due to weak concrete.

The board, which also included architect Joseph Scalpello and Karl Cini, held its first meeting on September 4 and met for the last time on May 29.