Payments to failed €55 million project contractor kept under wraps

The government’s payments towards a failed €55 million EU-funded project to construct a new deep-water quay at the Grand Harbour will remain undisclosed, as Infrastructure Malta continues to withhold key financial details.

Requests made by The Shift for a breakdown of payments issued to Excel Sis Enerji from 2021 until the contract’s termination in February were rejected.

Excel Sis Enerji is a Turkish company with Maltese interests and is based in Burmarrad.

Further inquiries by The Shift regarding penalties imposed on the contractor for failing to meet project targets, as stipulated in the contract, were also refused.

Infrastucture Malta CEO Steve Ellul cited “ongoing legal proceedings” as the reason for withholding information.

“Following the termination of the contract, other legal procedures must be followed. As such, the requested information cannot be disclosed at this stage,” Infrastructure Malta said.

However, court records show that no legal cases are currently pending between Infrastructure Malta and Excel Sis Enerji.

Additionally, the company has not publicly responded to the government’s February announcement terminating the €55 million contract.

Launched in 2021, the project aimed to construct a 350-metre quay extending the Grand Harbour facilities at Ras Ħanżir.

It was scheduled for completion by 2023. Yet by early 2025, Infrastructure Malta confirmed that only 10% of the project had been completed, prompting the authority to cancel the contract.

Transport Minister Chris Bonett, who is politically responsible for the project, told parliament that the termination was necessary to avoid the loss of substantial EU funding.

Excel Sis Enerji was awarded the tender in 2021 following a competitive process, which had been contested by the Bonnici Group.

The contractor is majority-owned (75%) by Turkish infrastructure company Sis Enerji Üretim.

Over the years, the same company has been associated with several major developments tied to controversial Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli, including Mercury Towers, the Paola Health Centre, and the unfinished Gozo Aquatic Centre.

According to its website, the company excels in “delivering on time”.

Portelli held a stake in Excel Sis Enerji but divested in 2024.

Project management had been awarded to HOG-JV, a company owned by Christopher Clark and Mariello Spiteri, via a €1.8 million tender.

Despite claims of urgency, Infrastructure Malta has yet to issue a new tender to resume or complete the project.