Guarantees on issue of permits for road works

In a letter sent to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA), the FOI complained on the additional costs being inflicted on road contractors and road excavation contractors when requesting a permit for works.

New MEPA rules now require contractors to produce a bank guarantee before a permit is issued for excavating trenches in connection with the laying of new services or maintaining existing ones.

This is an additional cost to contractors' operations, mostly performed for the Roads Directorate and other public corporations, and will only serve to add to the cost of utilities that the taxpayer will finally have to bear.

The federation believes that this guarantee is an unnecessary overlap with the bank guarantee that contractors have to produce to the satisfaction of the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) in all instances where a permit for road works is issued.

The FOI suggests that the additional burden on contractors could be avoided if the existing guarantee with the ADT were to be modified in the manner MEPA requires so that it could serve to cover the exigencies of both authorities.