Legal action against Technoline witheld despite failure to deliver Paola hospital

The government has chosen not to initiate legal action against the consortium responsible for the long-delayed Vincent Moran Health Centre in Paola despite commissioning studies aimed at holding the contractors accountable for the delays.

The €40-million EU-funded project was first announced in 2015 with an intended opening date of 2020. It remains incomplete, leaving the public without a much-needed health centre.

The Health Ministry commissioned two separate studies from Grant Thornton and from the Qatari firm Analyzer LLC earlier this year at a cost of over €50,000. The purpose was to seek advice on withdrawing the contract awarded to Technoline and its partner, the Italian firm Egron.

Both studies recommended taking legal action against the contractors but government sources told The Shift that the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) intervened to stop the process and gave more time to the contractors to complete the job.

The ongoing delays could jeopardize millions of euro in dedicated EU funds, leading to a significant loss of financial resources and a setback in healthcare infrastructure development in Paola.

Technoline, the lead contractor, has a close relationship with the government. According to the VGH/Steward magisterial inquiry, the medical supplies company is owned on paper by Ivan Vassallo and was acquired using public funds originally designated for the VGH/Steward hospitals deal.

Recent reports revealed that the government continued to fund the company with millions in contracts and direct orders despite ongoing court procedures against the company, including a €5 million freezing order and fraud and corruption charges.

The Paola health centre was the brainchild of former Health Minister Chris Fearne and was supposed to be managed by his chief canvasser, Carmen Ciantar, on a €163,000 a year contract, but the opening date has been repeatedly postponed despite Fearne’s assurances that the centre would be ready in 2022, and then in 2023, and then at the latest in the first half of 2024.

Project management sources blame Technoline, Ergon and their subcontractors for poor workmanship, particularly with regard to mechanical and electrical services.

The government is urging the FMS to open the project immediately but this cannot be done as the mechanical and electrical installations still need to be commissioned and certified. Many other defects also need to be rectified.

Prime Minister Robert Abela and Minister Jo Etienne Abela inaugurated the project just before MEP elections last May, giving the impression that the mini-hospital was about to open. Despite this public relations exercise, it remains closed and has yet to treat its first patient.

The Shift requested an update on the Paola hub’s start date but the Health Ministry’s spokesman declined to reply.