First EU road contract awarded

The government yesterday awarded a Lm2 million contract for the rebuilding of a stretch of road in Hal Far, the first to be co-financed by the European Union.

A spokesman for the Ministry for Urban Development and Roads said the contract had been awarded to a Maltese consortium, MAC Joint Venture, made up of Schembri Infrastructures and Bonnici Brothers Ltd. It covers the redevelopment of a three-kilometre stretch from the roundabout junction near the AFM barracks in Hal Far to the Malta Freeport.

The work is expected to start early next month and should be completed by the end of next year. The EU will be financing 70 per cent of the cost while the government will be forking out the remainder.

The minstry's spokesman, Daryl Pace, said five consortia had submitted tenders, a call for which was issued in January closing in March. All the bidders were Maltese.

The project is the last phase of the redevelopment of the network leading from the airport to the Freeport.

The first two phases, which were finished in 1998 and 2001, covered the road between the airport and the AFM barracks in Hal Far. This last phase will finish off the link to the Freeport.

Special construction methods will be employed on this road given the heavy lorries that go through it. It will be built to withstand a load of some 10 million, 30-ton vehicles over its lifespan.

Parts of the road will be widened while certain bends will be corrected. Moreover, a single lane and a foothpath will be constructed on the side, while services which currently run beneath the road will be laid under the pavement.

Mr Pace said the contract is the first of six such projects that will be co-financed by the EU. The rest of the contracts will be awarded in the comming weeks and cover a total of 12.5 kilometres of road.

At the moment, he said, the adjudication process is underway for the contract to rebuild Aviation Avenue in Luqa which links the terminals of the new and old airports, where the roads financed by the Italian protocol begin.

Another two projects - the rebuilding of a five-kilometre stretch in Gozo between Victoria and San Lawrenz and repairs at the Manuel Dimech bridge on Regional Road - are awaiting the final seal of approval.