Updated

Embattled minister without a portfolio Konrad Mizzi today turned up at a public dialogue meeting at Auberge de Castille, prompting a hero's welcome, with a standing ovation as soon as he entered the packed hall.

The meeting got under way with a promotional video highlighting the government’s achievements in the energy and health sectors.

These sectors were stripped from Dr Mizzi’s control last April after he was found to have opened a secret company in Panama sheltered by a trust in New Zealand.

Dr Mizzi kicked off the meeting by saying how the government turned around Enemalta.

He said the gas-fired power station was in its final phase of completion.

The power station was meant to originally be operational by March 2015. This date was later pushed back to June this year.

The government is now saying the power station will be operational by summer.

Although Dr Mizzi was stripped of his portfolio, he still retained responsibility for key energy and health projects.

The former energy minister gave a breakdown of the progress on the power station, but no final deadline was given.

He said works on the LNG tanker will be completed in the coming weeks.

Approached after the public dialogue, titled ‘Government that listens,’ Dr Mizzi refused to take questions about the Panama scandal.

“Today was about Gvern li Jisma, I will only answer questions about Gvern li Jisma,” Dr Mizzi said, before walking off.

He used the public consultation session to announce a €6 embellishment project in Marsaxlokk.

The project will include new roads and a pedestrian zone along the promenade.

More information can be found here. 

Regularisation process to last three years

Planning Parliamentary Secretary Deborah Schembri said a regularisation project will be open for three years.

Dr Schembri said people were encountering difficulties when selling their properties due to planning irregularities.

She said the problem was widespread therefore the regularisation process was necessary as it is not practical to demolish “three quarters of Malta’s buildings.