Taxpayers to pay dearly for new park as government board quashes appeal

The Public Contracts Review Board (PCRB) has decided to reject an appeal against Wasteserve’s decision to award Bonnici Brothers a €4.6 million contract to convert a waste treatment facility in Marsaskala into a park.

The government-appointed appeals board justified its decision to disregard Vassallo Builders’ significantly lower bid of €3.9 million, stating that the competing contractor failed to submit all the necessary tender documents correctly, rendering their bid inadmissible.

Other offers, also refused, were even lower than the first two, with Green Building Solutions Ltd offering to do the job for just €3 million. Yet it was only Vassallo Builders that filed an appeal, which has now been rejected.

The PCRB dismissed Vassallo Builders’ claims that it had submitted all the required documents correctly through the Department of Contracts’ electronic servers, stating this was incorrect. The request to re-evaluate the entire process was turned down. This decision can only be appealed in court.

The Marsaskala park is the latest significant contract awarded to Bonnici Brothers, a Burmarrad-based contractor securing large tenders since Robert Abela became prime minister.

Abela has a close relationship with the Bonnici Group and previously served as their lawyer while also engaging in private business with Gilbert Bonnici, the group’s managing director.

One of the most controversial contracts awarded to the Bonnici Group is a €600 million contract to build an incinerator at Magħtab. Wasteserv allocated this substantial project to a consortium in which Bonnici Brothers hold a 40% stake despite their lack of experience in this sector.

Last summer, the court annulled the government’s contract with Bonnici Brothers after an appeal from Hitachi, an international leader in the field.

Wasteserv has yet to complete a re-evaluation of this tender as ordered by the Chief Justice, with Hitachi warning of further legal action at the end of last year.

Hitachi’s bid is more expensive than that of Bonnici Brothers. Yet they successfully argued that the tender award process was flawed and that the selected bidder lacked the expertise to undertake such a project.

They also raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest among members of the adjudicating board and the PCRB, which endorsed the award. The court upheld these claims.