The new power station will not be operational by the end of June, as was indicated by the government earlier this year, and the Prime Minister is still waiting for a brief on the new timeframe.

The Labour government had promised a power station by March 2015, but this deadline was set back more than a year – June 2016. Now, even this timeframe will not be reached, and no date has as yet been set.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this morning said that he is waiting for a detailed brief before making the new dates published.

He has taken over the energy portfolio from Konrad Mizzi in the reshuffle he announced last week, but Dr Mizzi is still responsible for special projects, including the power station.

There are delays in the building of the ship that will be used as an offshore storage facility for liquefied natural gas. He insisted that the shift to gas will take place, but no date has been set.