Details of the Barts medical school lease agreement are shrouded under a veil of secrecy, with the government refusing to say how much it is paying Steward Health Care in rent for the Gozo facility.
Asked in Parliament by Opposition MP Chris Said, Economy Minister Chris Cardona refused to divulge information, saying it was “commercially sensitive”.
Dr Said has gone on record claiming taxpayers are forking out €1.5 million annually under the lease agreement – a claim which has never been disputed by the government. The agreement was first revealed by Times of Malta in August 2017.
This annual rent is over and above the €70 million per year which the government is paying to Steward to run three state hospitals – Gozo, St Luke’s and Karin Grech.
The medical school, which is situated adjacent to the Gozo General Hospital, was inaugurated last month.
Dr Said agrees in principle to its setting up but has levelled harsh criticism at the terms of the deal. During the 2020 Budget debate, the PN MP said the agreement made no commercial sense as the medical school had been constructed on government land given to Steward free of charge.
“Steward has financed the school construction through the €70 million concession fee received from the government,” he added.
“In return it is receiving an additional annual payment of €1.5 million also from taxpayers’ money to rent out the building to Barts.”
In his reply, the Economy Minister said the State investment arm, Malta Enterprise, could not divulge the amount being paid, in line with a confidentiality clause set in law.
Agreement makes no commercial sense
Malta Enterprise came into the picture because for some reason, prior to the commencement of works, the designation of this land was changed from one within a hospital to industrial. The amendment meant the project did not need a full development permit.
The concession agreement for the operation of the hospitals was belatedly published by the government in 2018. But the move failed to quell suspicions of corruption as crucial information was blacked out.
The Barts school was scheduled to be up and running three years ago. The project was part of the lucrative 30-year hospitals concession signed in 2016 under which Vitals Global Healthcare had agreed to build the complex.
However, VGH, which had no experience in the medical sector, failed to honour this commitment. In December 2017 it transferred its concession to Steward. Consequently, the medical school project was delayed and the project was only inaugurated last month.
Spread over a footprint of 2,400 square metres, the four-storey facility includes a 140-seat auditorium, two lecture theatres that can combine into a 120-seat facility, two computer labs for 70 students each, and teaching and clinical skills rooms.
The €35 million price tag cited by the Prime Minister during the inauguration ceremony had raised eyebrows. Sources in the construction industry said that the price appeared to be significantly inflated and that something of that size should only cost about €6 million.