Questions about bidder send major housing tender back to square one

Tenders for affordable housing developments are being re-evaluated, the government-church-owned foundation responsible for such projects told Times of Malta.

Sources said the decision came amid concerns about the preferred bidder for one of the projects, JAJ Contractors, which was formed only a few weeks before the tender opened to the public.

Replying to questions, the Foundation for Affordable Housing said the decision was taken by the Council of Administrators, the body that oversees the organisation’s work, but insisted the decision was not related to any one bidder.

“The new Council of Administrators, which took office in January 2026, took a decision to recompose the Tender Evaluation Committee and instructed the new TEC to conduct a re-evaluation of the offers submitted in pursuance of the Affordable Homes Initiative.”

The new Council of Administrators was brought in on January 13, around two weeks before then housing minister Roderick Galdes resigned following a series of allegations linking him to contractors.

Out of the six members of the council before the change, four have retained their posts: chairperson Robert Buontempo, Frank Psaila, Albertine Abela Meli and Domenic Sciberras.

They said the new council’s strategic decision was taken following an analysis of the evaluation that had been undertaken by the original Tender Evaluation Committee.

“It is incorrect and factually erroneous to associate the decision to commence a re-evaluation process with alleged concerns about any one or more of the bidders.”

The foundation is planning to build a total of 260 flats across four sites in Kirkop, Fgura, Ta’ Giorni in St Julian’s, and Marsascala.

JAJ Contractors formed on June 5, 2025

In September, the foundation announced that seven development companies had submitted bids for four sites to build apartments and sell them at 30 per cent below market value.

Among the bidders is JAJ Contractors, which was formed only a month before the tenders for the construction of the buildings were published.

Two government sources told the Times of Malta that the company had been selected as the preferred bidder for one of the plots.

Publicly accessible documents show that JAJ Contractors was formed on June 5, 2025, just over a month before the foundation published the tender on July 8.

The company’s directors are listed as Justin Sammut, Marco Mercieca and Andrew Cremona.

Cast Renting Ltd, Vassallo Builders Ltd, A.M. Developments Ltd, Green Building Solutions Ltd, Bonnici Bros Services Ltd and Eclipse JV also submitted bids in the tender proceedings.

The plan has been harshly criticised by the Malta Development Association, which said the move risks destabilising the property market and is unfair on those who bought their dwelling at market rate.

Under the planned system, buyers will be able to purchase temporary ownership of a flat at 30 per cent below the market price.

After 20 years, buyers will be offered the option to convert their temporary ownership into a perpetual one by paying the difference between the affordable and market price.

The plan has been harshly criticised by the Malta Development Association, which said the move risks destabilising the property market and is unfair on those who bought their dwelling at market rate.

It argued that participating developers would see higher profit margins as they would be given the land to develop for free.

The MDA has filed a judicial protest over the matter and sent a formal complaint to the European Commission, alleging that plans to develop apartment blocks for sale at 30 per cent below market value amount to “potential unlawful state aid”.

MDA officials Anton Camilleri, Pio Vassallo and Paul Attard resigned recently, reportedly in protest against the association’s decision to resort to the European Commission.