€24 million Chinese tender botched to be awarded to Bonnici Brothers for €27.4 million

The government-appointed Public Contracts Review Board (PCRB) decided to cancel the award of a €24 million contract to a Chinese multinational related to a green energy project.

Instead, a consortium in which Bonnici Brothers has a significant stake has now been placed in pole position to be awarded the lucrative EU-funded contract, despite costing taxpayers an extra €3.7 million.

This odd decision, which is raising eyebrows in the sector, was pushed by lawyer Ryan Pace, Prime Minister Robert Abela’s sidekick and former assistant at his private law firm, on behalf of Bonnici Brothers, the Prime Minister’s close friends and former clients.

The PCRB, led by Vince Micallef – a lawyer with close connections to the governing Labour party – upheld the grievances cited by Bonnici Group’s lawyer that the evaluation committee should have disqualified the Chinese due to a tainted record and non-compliance with the tender specifications.

Bashing the evaluation board appointed by Interconnect Malta – a government entity – and the Department of Contracts, the PCRB said the evaluators should have carried out proper due diligence before making their decision.

The appeals Board said that while it was true that the Chinese submitted the cheapest offer, they had a record of “grave professional misconduct” and did not submit “all the required documentation” with their bid.

The PCRB decided to annul the award and ordered the government’s Interconnect Malta agency to reinstate Bonnici’s offer and reevaluate it through a new evaluation committee.

The tender by Interconnect Malta, primarily funded through EU funds, is for the design and build of two energy battery storage systems in Marsa and Delimara.

Jiangxi Ganfeng Battery Technology Ltd – a Chinese leader in the sector submitted the lowest bid at €24 million.

In second place, BESSUI JV – a consortium led by Bonnici Brothers submitted an offer of €27.4 million.

Since the tender was based on the lowest price, the award went to the Chinese company.

Bonnici Brothers cried foul play and, through Ryan Pace, filed an appeal, paying €50,000 to challenge the decision.

Pace argued that the parent company of the winning bidder, a multi-billion-dollar Chinese Group, had admitted to insider dealing in China in its 2024 audited accounts, and this should have disqualified its subsidiary from the tender award.

Pace accused the government’s entities involved in the tender’s evaluation of “taking the easy way” to avoid possible controversy over public procurement contracts and how they are awarded, missing the criminal record of the Chinese company in the process.

The Chinese company defended its bid, stating that it was a separate juridical entity from its parent company, is a leading worldwide supplier in the technology sought after by the Maltese government, and submitted a tender almost €4 million cheaper than the Bonnici consortium.

Still, its arguments were shot down, and the PCRB sided with Bonnici Group’s arguments.

The Chinese company can appeal the decision to the Courts.

Since 2020, when Robert Abela became Prime Minister, Bonnici Group, through its various companies, has been awarded a raft of government tenders and direct orders, running into hundreds of millions.

The latest related to the energy sector is a diesel-fired emergency power station at Delimara, to be used only in case of a collapse of the local energy generation plants.

Just before becoming Prime Minister, Robert Abela used to conduct private business in property development with Gilbert Bonnici, the Group’s managing director.

On his part, Ryan Pace has been given 12 different government jobs so far since Abela took over Castille. A probe by the NAO is still ongoing.