Portelli poised to get €14 million Victoria Park project

A newly established company owned by Gozitan property developer Joseph Portelli and his long-time business partner Mark Agius, known as Ta’ Dirjanu, is on track to secure a €14 million public works contract in Gozo.

The company, Next Construction Ltd, was incorporated in April and has submitted the lowest bid for the first phase of the Victoria Park Project – an EU-funded redevelopment of the existing bus terminus and adjacent car park near Villa Rundle Gardens.

The scheme envisions the creation of an open green park, an underground parking facility for 280 vehicles, and the reconstruction of a small football ground.

Although the Gozo Ministry, which also oversees the Planning Authority, has yet to obtain the necessary development permit, it has proceeded to issue the tender for civil and infrastructural works to begin once approval is granted.

The overall project, expected to exceed €20 million upon completion within three years, will involve multiple tenders and phases.

In total, seven bidders are competing for the contract, with Portelli’s firm offering the lowest price.

However, rival bidders have questioned Next Construction’s eligibility, citing tender requirements that call for demonstrable experience and past project delivery – criteria the newly formed company appears unlikely to meet. Competitors will have 20 days to appeal once the final award is announced.

Portelli, a regular donor to Malta’s ruling Labour Party, has been a recurring presence in large-scale Gozitan infrastructure projects.

Among these is the reconstruction of the Victoria Sports Centre, which included the island’s first Olympic-sized swimming pool. Initially budgeted at around €10 million, the project’s final cost reportedly approached double that amount, with outstanding payments still unsettled.

Another of Portelli’s ventures, Prax Ltd, is part of a consortium with Gatt Tarmac Ltd, currently redeveloping Marsalforn’s main thoroughfare, which is a multi-million-euro contract.

Recent reporting by The Shift revealed that ready-mix trucks belonging to Prax Ltd were supplying concrete produced at an unlicensed batching plant in Kerċem, contravening public procurement regulations.

While the Gozo Ministry initially denied the use of illegal concrete, photographs published by the ministry itself appeared to confirm the claim. The ministry subsequently stated that the matter had been referred to the relevant authorities.

William Lewis, the ministry’s project manager and Labour Party organisation secretary, told The Shift that “action will be taken” if irregularities are confirmed. To date, no enforcement action has been reported.