Health Ministry cancels tender related to collapsed building

The award of a multi-million-euro tender issued by the Health Ministry for the lease of an elderly care facility in Gozo has been cancelled, three days after an excavation site related to the tender collapsed, The Shift can reveal.

So far, the government has not explained why it has cancelled the tender, which had already raised eyebrows in Gozo about why it was issued in the first place.

The Health Ministry issued a call for “the leasing of accommodation premises for older persons in Gozo for the Gozo General Hospital”.

According to Minister Jo Etienne Abela’s tender (CT4009/2025), the new premises were intended to be used for transferring between 120 and 160 individuals currently residing at Dar Sant’Anna, an elderly care home within the Gozo Hospital precincts.

Industry insiders immediately suspected foul play. Island Residence Holdings Ltd, owned by Bertrand Gatt, who resides in Sliema, Malta, was granted a permit for an elderly home in Victoria, Gozo, in 2023.

Gatt, who has no known experience in the elderly care sector, obtained a permit for a 60-bed nursing home on a vacant plot in Victoria. Excavation work on the site began just a few weeks before the tender was issued.

By the end of the tendering process, as anticipated, Island Residence Holdings Ltd was the sole bidder, presenting an offer of €10.5 million.

Last April, Gatt applied to build two additional stories, raising his home’s capacity from 91 beds to over 120 beds. The application, PA04665/25, is still pending before the Planning Authority and has not yet been approved.

On 27 September, while the site was being excavated under a permit issued in 2023, portions of the excavated area collapsed, causing the old structures scheduled for demolition also to fall. No injuries were reported. Yet work has been halted until the authorities complete their investigations.

On 30 September, just three days after the accident, the Health Ministry announced that the tender for which Gatt was the only bidder had been cancelled.

It is unclear whether Gatt will appeal this decision.

Industry sources informed The Shift that the demand for elderly homes in Gozo is currently being met by the existing services on the island. These services are primarily funded through public-private partnerships with the government.

Through these agreements, various Church and private homes provide accommodation for the elderly in need of such services. Some of these facilities are even struggling to fill all their available beds.

The demand for elderly residential services in Gozo is considered low, as most elderly residents are cared for by their families at home rather than in care facilities.

In Gozo, unlike Malta, care for the elderly falls under the responsibility of the Gozo Minister, unless it relates to the Gozo Hospital, which then falls under the Health Minister.