Building collapse reveals familiarity between regulator and contractor

Last June’s collapse of a block of flats in Paceville and the way the Building and Construction Agency (BCA) handled the incident, which could have had catastrophic consequences, are raising eyebrows in the industry about possible collusion between the regulator’s top administrators and a particular contractor.

The CEO of the BCA, Roderick Bonnici, who the government appointed, is not providing any explanation regarding his decision to immediately commission heavy machinery and employees from a particular contractor, Faceworks, for the clearance and controlled demolition of a private site. This action has resulted in costs amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros.

Bonnici declined to respond when asked by The Shift whether he had sought quotes from various companies in the field before making his decision.

He is also refusing to explain why he chose to directly commission Faceworks, a member of the Famalco Group, for this lucrative job. Additionally, he has not addressed why the government agency intervened at a private site instead of directing its owner, the rogue developer Joseph Portelli, to carry out the work.

The CEO of the BCA has, so far, not disclosed the costs of this operation or who would be responsible for covering these expenses, as it pertains to private property.

Sources close to the BCA, speaking to The Shift on the condition of anonymity, reported that to heighten their suspicions, on June 24—just a few days after Bonnici issued a direct order to Faceworks—all the regulator’s employees at the regulator’s headquarters in Marsa were invited by the CEO to a pizza party in recognition of their work during the hectic days following the collapse of Tania Flats.

Incidentally, the pizzas – over 50 – were provided by Domino’s, another subsidiary of the same Famalco Group, which had been given the site clearance job by the BCA a few days earlier.

“This was very strange, as from so many places, the pizzas also came from Famalco. We don’t know who paid for them or whether these came as a thank-you gift for the lucrative direct order”, the sources said.

Malta is peppered with companies providing the site clearance and demolition services commissioned by the BCA from the Famalco Group.

The CEO also directly appointed Labour apologist Robert Musumeci to conduct an ‘independent’ inquiry on what led to the building’s collapse.

The Tania Flats block collapsed like a house of cards while construction work was ongoing at an adjacent site. Fortunately, thanks to the intervention of the architect of the now-collapsed building, timely action was taken to evacuate the tenants, thereby avoiding a major tragedy.

Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli and his company, Excel Investments, denied any responsibility for the collapse, insisting that they adhered to all construction rules related to their development permit.