More delays at Co-Cathedral as Anglu Xuereb blasts ‘vitiated’ multi-million-euro tender

A long-delayed extension of the museum at St John’s Co-Cathedral has encountered a fresh setback after a multi-million-euro tender was challenged over alleged irregularities, compounding concerns about governance and cost overruns at one of Malta’s most prominent cultural projects.

AX Construction, owned by developer Anglu Xuereb, has filed a formal appeal before the Public Contracts Review Board (PCRB), claiming that the award of an €8.7 million contract for finishing works was “vitiated” by a lack of transparency and flawed evaluation.

The company is already engaged by the St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation on earlier phases of the project – primarily the construction phase.

According to the appeal, AX Construction submitted the lowest financial offer but was bypassed in favour of De Valier Co Ltd, whose bid was more than €500,000 higher.

The evaluation committee, chaired by Mons Emanuel Agius, the Archbishop’s representative on the Foundation, is accused of applying dubious assessment criteria and breaching public procurement rules.

The contested tender, which is partly financed through EU funds, marks the second attempt to procure finishing works after an earlier call issued in 2024 was withdrawn without explanation.

The dispute adds to a catalogue of delays and escalating costs that have plagued the museum extension since it was announced in 2013.

Originally projected to cost €10 million and to open in 2018, coinciding with Valletta’s designation as European Capital of Culture, the project remains far from completion almost a decade later.

By the scheduled opening year, construction had yet to begin, despite millions of euro having been spent on architectural designs, consultancy fees and planning work.

The Foundation, jointly overseen by representatives of the government and the Archbishop’s Curia, has repeatedly revised its timelines, most recently indicating that the museum would open in 2025.

However, with the year drawing to a close, basic construction work is still underway, and work on the finishing phase has yet to be awarded. Industry sources say the finishing works alone are expected to take several years.

Costs have also risen sharply.

Budgets have been revised upwards to around €25 million, more than double the original estimate, prompting unease within Church and government circles over financial oversight.

Further concerns emerged earlier this year when part of the Bartolott Crypt – a component of the wider project – suffered structural damage after a raised flooring collapsed, cracking centuries-old flagstones. The crypt remains closed, and responsibility for the damage has yet to be formally assigned.

With the latest tender now under legal challenge, the Foundation has stopped short of committing to a new opening date, underscoring the growing uncertainty surrounding one of Malta’s most ambitious cultural investments.