The costs for the building of a new public Olympic-size pool in Gozo have almost doubled, from a projected €9 million to €16 million.
The revised costs were announced in a statement by the OPM last week. Yet, only last October, during a visit to the project in Victoria, the Office of the Prime Minister announced that the new Gozo Sports Complex was expected to be completed this year at a cost of €9 million.
Yet seven months later, the costs almost doubled with no explanation given.
The Shift asked the government’s chief spokesman, Matthew Carbone, to explain the increase in costs. The questions were ignored.
Last December, the Shift reported about the expected massive increase in the government’s budgeted expense on this project as the original plans to build a pool adjacent to the existing sports complex were suddenly changed by the Gozo Ministry.
While the original plan was for the pool to be an extension of the existing sports complex, the contractors suddenly dismantled the entire sports’ complex structure (recently renovated by EU funds) and started excavating the whole area.
Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri did not reply to questions asking for an explanation and also stonewalled various parliamentary questions by Gozitan Opposition MPs who called out the sudden change in the project’s direction.
Caqnu and Joseph Portelli main beneficiaries
Works on the pool project were awarded through a tender and won by a joint venture formed by construction magnates Charles Polidano, known as Ic-Caqnu, and Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli.
The tender was awarded for €9 million.
Following the change of plans, for reasons nobody knows, it is now expected that both Portelli and Polidano will rake in higher profits since the revised budget has suddenly shot up by at least another €7 million.
The Shift had reported that, contrary to the original plans, the massive parquet flooring of the sports complex, refurbished just a few years ago through EU funds, had been dug up and mostly thrown away, together with the roof of the complex, which was also changed recently and financed by taxpayers.
Gozo Sports Complex was dismantled following tender for an adjacent pool.
The Gozo Minister had said that this was necessary following a storm that had damaged the roof. No details were given and residents in Gozo living in the vicinity of the project have told The Shift they doubt whether this is true.
Sports enthusiasts who used to visit the facilities daily had also told The Shift that they never noticed any defects in the roof and the sports complex never had any leakages even during heavy storms.
The pool complex was pledged by Labour in 2013. Works are now at a frenetic pace as the government wants the project to be completed in time for the next elections.
The Shift has recently also revealed that hundreds of tons of concrete used in the project is being produced by an illegal concrete batching plant owned by Joseph Portelli in Kercem.
Absolute carbon copy of Palermo in the 60s:
“It was in Palermo in particular that the phenomenon [of illegal construction] took on dimensions such as not to leave any doubts about the insidious penetration by the Mafia of public administration. The administrative management of Palermo City Council reached unprecedented heights of deliberate non-observation of the law around 1960.”
Antimafia commission report 1976.
Today we had another show of injustice with PA approving and sanctioning illegalities
The minister for Gozo is just another compulsive self-serving corrupt liar, patrons have known that the complex was going to be torn down months before construction even started. In fact the Ministry for Gozo had signed a contract with Gaudos (minor seminary) gym months earlier, as an alternative venue for indoor sports. The roof was in perfect shape, only the solar panels were damaged during the mentioned storm. Practically all the patrons knew that the complex was going to be dismantled, before the Summer of 2019. In fact this issue was brought up with the Gozo Sports Board as members questioned why destroy a parquet flooring that was changed just two years earlier. Members were informed that the Sports Complex was to have another subterranean level added to the preexisting one. If the roof was in such a perilous state why was the complex used after the aforementioned storm? What a waste of taxpayers money, theft to fatten the pockets of criminals.
Pajjiz mafjuz misruq minn ftit hallelin u minghajr ebda tama ta gustizzja. Corrupt government and non-existent opposition.
Fi tmien snin rajna minn kollox, serq ta flus il-poplu, asassinju ta’ gurnalista, serq ta flus minn pajjiz terzi, firem foloz, pulizija korrotti, gudikatura ffurmata minn ex. kandidati ta gvern korrott, membri tal-gvern (korrott) jinghataw pozizzjoni f’dipartimenti tal-gvern jew istituzzjonijiet ohra, guramenti foloz, pm moghti l-aqwa titolu ghall-korruzzjoni, magistrati bil-parties fil-qorti; bejgh tac-cittadinanza lill- persuni korrotti li lanqas biss iridu jafu b’Malta, x’jonqosna, x’ma nkunux l-awqa fl-ewropa
GHALL-KORRUZZJONI.