Wasteserv is set to re-evaluate, rather than reopen, a €600 million waste-to-energy tender after an appeals court annulled the initial award in June.
The State-owned waste management company was faced with two alternatives: either scrap the tender for the planned facility in Magħtab and start the bidding process from scratch or re-evaluate the existing bids.
Wasteserv confirmed it is proceeding with the re-evaluation process in the long-delayed project.
It had awarded the contract to a French-Maltese consortium that placed the lowest bid.
The decision was later annulled following a court appeal by Hitachi, whose own bid for the project came in at €780 million.
A panel of judges found the composition of the adjudication committee appointed by Wasteserv to evaluate the tender to be “irregular”.
This was because one of its members worked as a Wasteserv procurement manager and was also listed as a member of the public contracts review board, which hears appeals on public contracts.
The court also upheld Hitachi’s claim that two members of the public contracts review board who rejected an initial appeal by Hitachi had conflicts of interest, due to their links with public entities.
Wasteserv says the court judgment in no way implied wrongdoing in the procurement process.
Hitachi has claimed, among other things, that the tendering process was tainted and that the winning bidder could not fulfil the technical requirements at the price it submitted.
It also claimed that the price quoted by the winning bidder was too low to be realistic.
Prime Minister Robert Abela has confirmed he is “friends” with some of the directors of Bonnici Brothers, who partnered with French firm Paprec for the winning bid.
The facility is intended to make a significant contribution to the reduction of Malta’s carbon footprint and meet around 4.5% of its energy needs
Abela said this friendship in no way impinged on the procurement process. Environment Minister Miriam Dalli has also defended the process.
She said the process involved international consultants and auditors who monitored it throughout.
The minister said the government’s main aim is to ensure that its waste management aims are met.
The facility is intended to make a significant contribution to the reduction of Malta’s carbon footprint and meet around 4.5% of its energy needs.
Wasteserv CEO Richard Bilocca is facing calls from the opposition to resign after he and five other Wasteserv employees were charged in connection with the death of a worker at the Marsa incinerator in 2022.