Wasteserv, Dalli in reverse mode

WasteServ is in reverse mode, according to waste experts, after announcing a multi-million-euro project to expand landfill capacity at Magħtab while its long-awaited flagship project, a waste-to-energy plant promised for 2023, remains stalled, with no published timetable for a replacement tender or its eventual operation.

According to the government’s waste agency, which falls under Minister Miriam Dalli’s responsibility, the landfill tender seeks to add more than 2.9 million cubic metres of capacity. Excavation in two phases will deepen a landfill built in 2004 from 10 metres to 54 metres. Excavated stone must be processed into construction products, with its value expected to offset part of the costs.

Waste removed before excavation is being used in a separate retaining-wall project, permitting steeper landfill slopes and increasing capacity without additional land take.

Malta’s Waste Management Plan 2021–2030 expressly allows specialised engineering to increase landfill space. However, it also prioritises diverting waste away from landfill, including through the proposed waste-to-energy plant.

That flagship project was announced in 2017. Nine years later, its procurement remains unresolved, despite the government’s promise that the facility would begin operating by 2023.

By July 2023, WasteServ had received final offers for a plant designed to process 192,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste annually. It aimed to sign a contract before year-end. The recommended bid of approximately €600 million covered construction and 20 years of operation.

However, the evaluation process was challenged on appeal, and the court ordered a reassessment. The preferred consortium subsequently failed to renew its bid, and Dalli later confirmed that its award had been revoked. The procurement closed without a successful award in December 2025.

The Shift reported in March 2026 that no construction funds had been allocated for that year. By mid-October, Dalli’s ministry had still provided no replacement timetable, saying landfill capacity was sufficient without quantifying the remaining space.

The previous procurement allowed approximately three years for design and construction after award.

The European Commission’s 2026 assessment reported that Malta landfilled 74% of municipal waste in 2023. The EU’s headline target is 10% or less by 2035.