Mater Dei: New heart treatment lab adds to growing list of stalled health projects

A new multi-million-euro cardiac treatment facility planned for Mater Dei Hospital has become the latest casualty in a widening pattern of stalled health infrastructure projects, after the Health Ministry was forced to cancel a €3.7 million tender for its procurement almost a year into the evaluation process.

The planned Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory, better known as a Cath Lab, was intended to expand Mater Dei’s capacity to treat heart disease, including angioplasty, stent placement, pacemaker insertions and other critical interventions.

The additional facility is widely considered essential given Malta’s growing population and the increasing number of cardiac procedures required annually.

Instead, the project now joins a growing queue of high-profile health initiatives announced by Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela, but that have never been delivered or remain in their infancy.

These include a long-promised extension to Mater Dei’s overstretched emergency department, the closure of Mount Carmel Hospital and its replacement with new psychiatric wards at the general hospital, and plans for a new hospital in Gozo.

Meanwhile, other essential projects are facing significant delays, including the Paola Hub, partially opened three years behind schedule, and refurbishment work at various health centres across the island.

The latest cancelled tender concerned the design and construction of the new Cath Lab.

According to procurement records, the Health Ministry scrapped the process after receiving just one bid from CE-BB Projects Ltd, a joint venture including Bonnici Brothers.

The consortium submitted an offer of €5.4 million, almost €2 million above the ministry’s estimated budget.

Last month, the ministry cancelled the tender.

However, the situation has been further complicated by a formal objection filed with the Public Contracts Review Board (PCRB), which prevents the government from immediately reissuing a new call.

The objection was lodged on behalf of the bidder by lawyer Ryan Pace, a former legal assistant to the Prime Minister at the Prime Minister’s private legal firm, who is currently on 12 government retainers given to him by Prime Minister Robert Abela.

The Bonnici company is arguing that the ministry should not have terminated the tender and instead should have awarded it the contract.

Bonnici Brothers is also involved in a separate dispute with the Health Ministry over another major infrastructure project, the long-delayed extension of Mater Dei’s emergency department and the addition of new psychiatric wards to replace Mount Carmel Hospital.

In that case, CE-BB Projects was again the sole bidder, submitting an offer of €136 million for a project the ministry had estimated at €80 million. The consortium has similarly challenged the cancellation of that tender before the PCRB, which is still to decide the case.

The mounting legal disputes mean further delays are inevitable, as appeals must be heard and decided before new procurement processes can be launched.

Sources within the Foundation for Medical Services told The Shift that outdated cost estimates and mismanagement at the Health Ministry are contributing to repeated procurement failures.

The result is a growing backlog of critical health infrastructure projects, with patients bearing the brunt of delays.