Tender Tailored? €63 million contract for elderly home in Gozo ‘written to fit’ private project

A Gozitan businessman, currently completing construction of a 57-bed care home for the elderly in Victoria, appears poised to secure a lucrative €63 million public tender issued by the Gozo Ministry.

Simon Grech, the entrepreneur behind iCare Operations Ltd, is the only known provider in Gozo currently developing a facility that meets the specific criteria set out in the Ministry’s latest “framework contract” tender for eight years.

The tender closed in April with iCare Operations Ltd submitting what appears to be the only viable bid. Another offer came from Uniplural Childcare Ltd – formerly APEX Company Ltd – a firm with no apparent experience in elderly care provision.

Industry observers have suggested that the specifications of the tender closely mirror the design and timeline of Grech’s private project. Requirements such as a minimum of 50 beds located within a single building, availability within a year, and financial thresholds appear to align precisely with Grech’s ongoing development.

The Shift reported in 2023 that Grech was converting a former wedding venue adjacent to Arkadia shopping centre in Victoria into a residential home for the elderly. At the time, we predicted that a government tender would likely follow to ensure the facility’s viability. This is precisely what is happening two years later.

Grech has benefited from a number of direct orders from the Gozo Ministry in recent years. He also owns Casa Amalia, a dementia care facility in Gozo that receives approximately €500,000 annually in public funding. However, a 2022 audit by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that Casa Amalia employed no specialists in dementia care and that the Ministry was relying on financial data supplied by the operator when calculating payments – an arrangement deemed highly irregular.

Further questions have been raised about Grech’s personal connections. His partner, Maria Farrugia, is employed within Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri’s private secretariat. Unlike Malta, residential care for the elderly in Gozo falls under the remit of the Gozo Ministry rather than the Health Ministry.

A spokesperson for the Ministry declined to address concerns over the apparent alignment of the tender with Grech’s private development. Instead, she emphasised that while current facilities, including the recently inaugurated Dar San Ġużepp, are operational, the tender is intended to safeguard the island’s long-term elderly care capacity.

The Ministry also said discussions were underway with the Ministry for the elderly regarding the relocation of residents from Dar Sant Anna – the existing state-run facility within the Gozo General Hospital – to new premises. This would facilitate the eventual redevelopment of the hospital complex.