€2.1 million spent on Villa Lauri as project is five years late

A Gozo Ministry project to provide temporary shelter for Gozitan students and relatives of patients recovering in Malta has already cost taxpayers €2.1 million, is still unfinished, and is five years late.

Replying to questions by Gozitan Nationalist Party MP Chris Said, Gozo and Planning Minister Clint Camilleri admitted that the budget and timeline for refurbishing Villa Lauri in Birkirkara have been exceeded.

According to figures presented in parliament, Camilleri said, so far, the government has spent €1.6 million on work in addition to almost €500,000 paid to its owners in leases – the Franciscan Province of St Paul the Apostle, better known as the O.F.M.

Latest figures on the late Villa Lauri project presented in parliament.

The minister said that tens of thousands of euro are necessary to complete the project, including a new tender for the provision of furniture that has not yet been issued.

Still, the minister insisted that the project is still on the agenda, with a new opening date of October 2024.

The project was announced at the start of 2019 by then-Gozo minister Justyne Caruana.

She had said that a total of €1 million was to be spent on rehabilitating the villa to turn it into a 33-bed facility for its Gozitan guests. She announced the site would be open in 2020.

However, since then, works under the supervision of architect Frank Muscat have been conducted at a slowly and have not yet been completed.

Caruana has previously engaged Muscat on several projects, giving him a raft of direct orders when she was parliamentary secretary and then Gozo minister.

The Gozo Ministry has become known for delays and over-budgeted projects, and none of its major projects have been completed on time.

Some pending projects include a home for the elderly in Għajnsielem, an aquatic centre in Rabat, the re-building of an arterial road in Nadur and a new Gozo Hospital.

All of the delayed projects are believed to have gone significantly over budget to the tune of millions of euro.

                           

Sign up to our newsletter

Stay in the know

Get special updates directly in your inbox
Don't worry we do not spam
                           
                               
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

4 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
jingo
jingo
8 months ago

A once classy house destroyed with all sorts of excuses.

Paul Pullicino
Paul Pullicino
8 months ago

The renovation costs so far are equal to the cost of purchasing or building 8 four bedroom apartments at 250,000 each. Someone’s doing okay here.

Kurt
Kurt
8 months ago
Reply to  Paul Pullicino

Would be good to know where these four bedroom apartments at eur250k are. Been looking but haven’t seen any yet.

Jean Paul Galea
Jean Paul Galea
8 months ago

All they did is demolish entrance what did they do with that money… someones pockets maybe

Related Stories

Court rules Siggiewi land used as quarry by Polidano to be returned to public
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a sizeable
Four chiefs in four months while health sector procurement faces delays
The government’s Central Procurement and Supplies Unit (CPSU), one

Our Awards and Media Partners

Award logo Award logo Award logo