Hitachi warns government of further action over €600 million tainted tender

Hitachi, an international player in the waste-to-energy industry, has warned the government of further legal action if it persists in ignoring the rule of law regarding the award of a €600 million tender for an incinerator at Magħtab.

Through a new judicial protest, Hitachi claimed that despite last June’s decision by the Court of Appeal to annul the evaluation process conducted by the government waste management agency, Wasteserv’s reevaluation process was not in line with the Court’s decision.

According to Hitachi, while the Court annulled the whole process, including the pre-qualification stage, Wasteserv has only started its re-evaluation from a financial perspective – the second stage of the process.

In its protest, Hitachi warned it may have to resort to Court again to annul the whole process and claim millions in damages from the government.

The incinerator saga has been ongoing for years. Meanwhile, Malta is moving closer to missing its EU targets, with possible financial and legal consequences.

Last year, after a long call for tenders and an evaluation process, Wasteserv announced that it had decided to award the lucrative tender to Paprec Energies International, in which the Bonnici Group has a 40% stake.

The Group has no experience in the waste-to-energy sector but has been receiving millions in tenders. When still a lawyer, Prime Minister Robert Abela was in private business with the Managing Director of Bonnici Group, Gilbert Bonnici.

Hitachi filed an appeal against the tender decision through lawyers Adrian Delia and Matthew Paris. The company claimed the process had been tainted.

Last June, the Court upheld Hitaci’s claims, confirming that Stephanie Sciclina Laiviera, a member of the evaluation committee, and two others in the appeals committee (Public Contracts Review Board), Chairman Kenneth Swain and lawyer Vince Micallef, had a conflict of interest.

The Court annulled the whole process and ordered the evaluation to start from scratch through a different board.

Since 2020, when Abela assumed the role of prime minister, Bonnici Brothers have been awarded hundreds of millions in government tenders and direct orders. The latest was a €37 million temporary diesel power station.