Joseph Portelli to snatch €18 million Naxxar school contract

Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli and his associates are set to bag another €18 million government contract to demolish and build a government primary school in Naxxar.

The contract issued by the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools (FTS) will see the demolition of the old complex in Triq l-Iskola and the construction of a new facility, which will rise from the current two storeys to five, including two underground. The façade of the old school would be retained.

At the tender’s closing, Portelli’s PRA Construction filed the lowest bid, at €17.9 million, followed by Rockcut’s €18.5 million.

FTS, the government agency responsible for public school building projects, has been going through a very rough patch, particularly since Neville Young was installed as its CEO.

While Young and his assistant, Jonathan Brimmer, are currently being investigated over alleged maltreatment of their employees, senior professionals with years of experience have deserted the agency.

This had a head-on effect on the FTS, with projects delayed by years, leading to the agency’s projects’ costs rising exponentially.

The latest two examples are the Msida and Victoria primary schools in Gozo, which are scheduled to open this year.

The Msida primary had to open in 2019, but this will only happen this year because the project was marred by mismanagement. During construction, some newly built structures had to be demolished again due to wrong building techniques that went unnoticed.

Parts of the newly-built Msida primary school had to be pulled down due to bad work.

It is unclear what action, if any, the FTS has taken to recoup some of the added costs.

The new Msida primary cost €10 million more than initially estimated.

The same happened in Gozo, where the new Victoria primary was slated to host its first students in 2022. At an estimated cost of €10 million, its bills have now reached €18 million, and it will open its doors two years later.

Plans for the new primary in Victoria were first announced in 2017.

                           

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M.Galea
M.Galea
19 days ago

Tinkwietaw xejn dawk mhux kollha ghalih! Dan qed juza biss ismu, kollha jinhbew wara ismu qeghdin! Mafia!

Albert Mamo
Albert Mamo
19 days ago

ITS POINTLESS TO POINT AT THE INCOMPETENCE, THAT IS RUNNING OUR COUNTRY…ITS SICKENING!!!💯👎👎👎

Marianna Galea Xuereb
19 days ago

So another very well-designed and healthy-building school with all the necessary passive architectural features to ensure adequate natural air ventilation and sunlight ingress (in all its classrooms and offices) EVEN WHEN ELECTRICITY IS SWITCHED OFF ANYTIME BETWEEN 7.OO AM AND 5 PM is set to be demolished. Where are the parents, godparents, guardians, aunts, uncles and grandparents of Maltese children and future generations??? ANYONE who cares about the health and well being of the children who will end up in the potential new sick-building modern school at Naxxar, should be marching in protest against MEPA and the Foundation for Tomorrow’s school’s directors.

M.Galea
M.Galea
18 days ago

Exactly my thoughts!!

Karistu
Karistu
1 day ago

Protesting concludes nothing with this government. Anyone who has to send his kids to that school should club together and take the FTS to court. Only a class action gets some sort of result. These screwups aren’t incompetence- they’re bribery and corruption.

Marianna Galea Xuereb
19 days ago

As far as I know, Neville Young is just a lawyer with no qualifications in Primary Education, construction, school design or health. Should such a person have even been considered for the post of FTS’s CEO?

M.Galea
M.Galea
18 days ago

Dik skola mibnija bellezza mela bhal kruha li qed jibnu llum l gurnata! Fottuha halli iddahlu l miljuni ja qatta hmieg!!

Austin Sammut
Austin Sammut
17 days ago

What’s wrong with that building? Surely it should be protected? Local council hello!

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