Several documents submitted to the Planning Authority asking for the sanctioning of illegal private work carried out as part of the multi-million-euro Nadur road project contradict the Gozo Ministry’s denials that no work was carried out on private property with public funds.

Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri is not explaining how the reconstruction of the Nadur arterial road, originally budgeted at €8 million, has already cost taxpayers €13.6 million with more bills still in the pipeline.

But The Shift has uncovered illegal work carried out in private agricultural land abutting the reconstructed road. The work was carried out concurrently with the Nadur road project and with the same heavy plant machinery belonging to Road Construction Ltd, the company that was awarded the roadwork tender.

When confronted with pictures of the illegal private work carried out simultaneously with the public road project, the Gozo Ministry denied any involvement and association and insisted that public funds were not used for the private work.

An ERA document and photographs of the work carried out on private land. Source: ERA.

With the National Audit Office (NAO) now expected to begin an independent investigation into what actually happened, The Shift is revealing more documents that put paid to the ministry’s denials.

The new evidence

While The Shift has already shown the construction of illegally-built long stretches of new rubble walls, concrete ramps and rural passageways, agricultural stores, new soil levels and water reservoirs in private fields along the new road’s perimeter – all done without the required permits – a recent development application shows that private work has indeed been done as part of the public road project.

Application PA124/23, submitted by Peter Paul Tabone, the owner of fields in which illegal work was carried out, is now asking the Planning Authority to sanction the illegalities, which included a large water reservoir built as part of the public road project.

The reservoir that was excavated on private land next to the road project.

In his application, the owner’s architect, Shawn Micallef, declares in his submitted plans that the reservoir and the related excavation work “were carried out with road widening”.

A private party’s architect confirms the work was done with the road widening project.

Pictures of the illegal work now submitted to the Planning Authority show a considerable amount of work being done in the private fields during the road widening project and with the same stone and material.

Further pictures submitted by the architect and studied by Environment and Resources Authority also confirm that the work was carried out illegally.

A large concrete ramp accompanied by high newly-built rubble walls crossing the private fields is also suspected to have been built with public funds.

A section of the ERA document showing the wide ramp built illegally in a private field. Source: ERA

While objecting to the sanctioning of the illegalities, ERA noted that, “The submitted plans and photos indicate that excavation works for the proposed underground reservoir have (already) been carried out. However, ERA cannot trace any approved permit/s related to these interventions.”

“In addition, ERA notes that a wide and long concreted ramp has also been carried out. No permits were traced for this intervention, which has resulted in site engineering and land clearance, and permanently alter the landscape character of this rural area. From an environmental perspective, such intervention is excessive and has formalised the area.”

With the ministry so far completely distancing itself from the situation and with its stance being contradicted by the new PA application, no one appears to be taking responsibility.

An architect’s designs stating the work was carried out as part of the public road project.

Work on the reconstruction of the Nadur road, Triq l-Imġarr, was started in 2018 by the then-Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana and an €8 million tender was awarded to Road Construction Ltd.

As soon as Clint Camilleri took over the Gozo Ministry, he changed the project’s architect and appointed Andrew Ellul, the husband of former Planning Authority ODZ permits boss Elizabeth Ellul, through a direct order

The project, which is already €5.6 million over budget, is still not fully completed and there is still some finishing work pending.