An urgent meeting has been requested between the government and the Swedish firm which built most of Mater Dei Hospital after an investigation confirmed fears of weak concrete, Health Minister Konrad Mizzi said yesterday.
Addressing a press conference, Dr Mizzi said he had written to Johan Karlström, the CEO of construction firm Skanska, a major contractor on the hospital project, asking to discuss the findings of a damning review of the building’s concrete structures.
“We are exploring every possible avenue we can take next to secure compensation, whether this is by seeking legal recourse or any other possibility,” Dr Mizzi said.
Attempts to reach Mr Karlström for a comment yesterday were unsuccessful.
Ironically, the strongest part of the hospital was the only one without any living patients – the mortuary
Times of Malta yesterday reported that remedial works to reinforce the hospital were expected to cost in excess of €30 million.
Asked who would foot this bill and whether taxpayers could be left to pick up the cheque, Dr Mizzi said he would leave no stone unturned to ensure those responsible were held accountable.
What was certain, he said when pressed, was that the works could not wait and had already started.
The structural review, conducted by internationally renowned consultancy firm Arup, was unveiled yesterday. It found that the concrete columns in the basement of several parts of the hospital were much weaker than they were meant to be.
Columns beneath the Accident and Emergency building, for instance, were meant to have a tensile strength of 30MPa (units of pressure resistance), however tests had found that they were only 18MPa.
Arup director Andrew Harrison said that although this did not pose an immediate risk, it did raise serious concerns over the building’s durability.
He said that the columns had already exhibited some signs of corrosion and the concrete used was porous.
He went on to explain that the concrete mixture had included softer particles than necessary, however it was not clear whether this had been done by unscrupulous developers to cut corners.
Mr Harrison said he had never seen such weak concrete used in a public building, let alone a hospital. “It was surprising to find these results. And I’m sure it was disappointing for anyone in-volved in the development of this hospital,” he said.
The state-of-the-art hospital was originally touted as “earthquake proof”, however tests conducted by Arup also raised doubts over the building’s seismic vulnerability.
Mr Harrison said that if remedial action was not taken, then the hospital would not be able to continue to operate in case of an earthquake. He added that while the impact of a strong earthquake would not be catastrophic, it would not be negligible either.
The A&E section of the hospital was not the only one with weak concrete.
Mr Harrison said tests on the largest part of the hospital, Block D, which houses all the wards, had also confirmed fears that the concrete was weaker than necessary.
Ironically, the report shows that the strongest part of the hospital is the only one without any living patients – the mortuary.