Projects Plus to be shut down as part of government restructuring
The entity, set up by Konrad Mizzi, had become redundant, sources say
Projects Plus, a company set up by Konrad Mizzi in 2016, is being wound down, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri said on Monday.
Speaking at the launch of a new government entity, Malta Investments and Economic Advisory, Schembri said “Projects Plus Ltd will be wound down with its resources transferred”.
Over the years, the entity led several infrastructural projects, including carparks at Għadira and Marsaxlokk, as well as affordable housing projects across the Maltese Islands.
However, sources told Times of Malta that the entity had become redundant in recent years, with many of its projects either completed or transferred to other ministries.
Its remaining major project, a new €8.2 million football and rugby stadium in Kordin will be taken on by Infrastructure Malta, according to sources.
Sources say this is part of a wider move across the ministry to consolidate existing entities and phase out those which no longer serve their original purpose.
Speaking on Monday, Schembri pointed to several changes to other entities within his ministry, describing them as moves to “improve efficiency, supervision and governance”.
Aside from the closure of Projects Plus, the National Foreign Direct Investment Screening Office, which is responsible for screening investment from non-EU countries will now be incorporated into the Malta Business Registry.
Meanwhile, the Responsible Gaming Foundation will be absorbed by the Malta Gaming Authority, with the eSkills Malta Foundation recently incorporated into the Malta Digital Innovation Authority.
Schembri said these changes aim to ensure that “the State works with the same level of efficiency we see in other jurisdictions”.
Projects Plus frequently found itself in the eye of the storm while under Konrad Mizzi’s stewardship, with one of its first assignments being to monitor the ill-fated hospitals concession to Vitals Global Healthcare.
The entity’s CEO, James Camenzuli, was eventually to be one of several people facing criminal charges over the concession. Despite the charges, Camenzuli remained in the role, with Schembri brushing aside calls for his dismissal.