Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana did not know that her ministry had bought concrete for a public road project from an illegal batching plant, a ministry spokesman has said.

The illegal batching plant in San Lawrenz, owned by a group of developers headed by construction magnate Joseph Portelli, is still operating, while the authorities, including the government and the Planning Authority, decide how to handle the situation.

Trucks filled with concrete from the illegal batching plant were seen last September pouring tons of concrete to repair a collapsed road in Nadur, leading to the popular Ramla Bay.

Minister Caruana was pictured with Gozitan contractor Anthony Bugeja inspecting the works while the illegal concrete was being lowered into the road.

Mr Bugeja, known as Ix-Xrik, is a co-owner of the batching plant, which is situated in an illegal San Lawrenz quarry, together with Joseph Portelli and a number of other developers.

A Gozo Ministry spokesman did not reply when asked to provide details about the company or contractor awarded a direct order to carry out the ‘emergency’ Nadur roadworks.

Neither did he reply when asked whether the minister was aware that public funds were used to procure concrete from an illegal batching plant, say-ing only that “the contract was awarded after following established procedures”.

When pressed, the spokes-man shielded the minister from responsibility.

“To avoid any doubt or misleading messages, neither the Ministry for Gozo nor Minister Caruana were aware of the place of origin of the material used in this project,” he said.

Times of Malta is informed that the direct order ran into tens of thousands of euro.

Meanwhile, both the government and the Planning Authority are still mulling how to sanction the illegal batching plant while allowing it to continue to operate.

Senior PA officials told Times of Malta that while the PA administration have been advised to call in the police and seal off the illegal batching plant, others within the senior echelons of government are resisting the idea.

Last week, the Office of the Prime Minister put the onus of this decision on the PA, saying that it is “an independent” authority.

Planning Minister Ian Borg has also said that he expects the PA to act.

The board of the PA and its CEO are appointed directly by the government.

A study conducted by the PA has found 17 other concrete batching plants operating illegally across Malta.

The PA did not reply to questions about the study or the illegal San Lawrenz plant.