Portelli hid behind ic-Caqnu as latest construction debacle unravelled

Gozitan construction magnate Joseph Portelli hid behind Polidano Brothers contractors and its owner – Charles Polidano, Ic-Caqnu – in an attempt to shift the blame for the demolition debacle at the former Go Exchange in Birkirkara.

The Shift can confirm that while the Polidano Group was partly responsible for the latest incident in which the site was being demolished without respect for established rules, the main contractor registered at the site was PRA Construction – owned by Portelli himself and his business partners Mark Agius, known as Ta’ Dirjanu, and Comino deckchair concessionaire Daniel Refalo.

The Building and Construction Authority on Wednesday fined Polidano €5,000 while developer and site manager Mark Agius was fined €3,150. Another €2,000 fine was meted out to site technical officer David Muscat, who was tasked with observing sensitive works that might affect third parties.

Portelli had, in the process, also shielded his own architect, Marisa Schembri Grima – who was, until yesterday, the head of the BCA – from responsibility by insisting she was not at fault even though, under current rules, architects are responsible for constantly ensuring their method statements are being followed to the letter.

On 1 February, the Building and Construction Authority that she heads had issued her with clearance, as Joseph Portelli’s architect, to begin demolishing the large building.

But just a few days into unmonitored work, large slabs, bricks and rubble were falling from the building onto the street.

When the incident hit the headlines, Schembri Grima was immediately asked to resign as BCA chairperson, with the government suddenly understanding she had a conflict of interest.

The Shift has repeatedly pointed out how Schembri Grima’s appointment at the BCA’s helm was grossly unethical and marred with conflicts of interest.

The relatively young and unknown architect has been completely immersed in work related to Portelli, Agius and Refalo – fronting several construction applications turning old houses into large apartment blocks.

The Shift had also revealed how the same architect was defending Portelli and his associates over their completely illegal concrete batching  plant in Kercem, Gozo, which was built on public land in broad daylight and over which the government has not taken any action in the past four years.

When contacted, Schembri Grima denied any conflict of interest, stating that Portelli was only one of her clients even though he was her major source of work.

Even though Prime Minister Robert Abela had been warned several times about the conflict of interest, even with NGOs and the Kamra tal-Periti (Chamber of Architects) informally pressuring him to not re-nominate Schembri Grima to the post after the last general election, the Prime Minister completely ignored them.

The appointment was made shortly after Abela attended a private dinner in Gozo organised by Portelli to raise funds for Labour’s electoral campaign. Several building contractors were present for the dinner and later made donations towards the electoral campaign.