Following the signing of an agreement between the government and Care Malta (Mellieha) Limited, Louis Deguara, Minister of Health, the Elderly and Community Care yesterday announced that the foundation stone of a new residence for the elderly would be laid in Mellieha next month.

Dr Deguara was speaking during a visit to the site together with Helen D’Amato, Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly and Community Care.

Alex Tranter from Care Malta (Mellieha) Limited, said the company was committed to complete the project in the shortest time possible and the work carried out so far bore witness to this commitment. A sizeable number of workers would be working on the project during the coming weeks.

Minister Deguara said that at present, the closest residence for the elderly was in Mosta, so the Mellieha residence would help ease the distance problem faced by people living in the area.

Dr Deguara said the new private public partnership system was a way of having companies complete projects as soon as possible, as it was then that they could start getting paid.

The new residence would serve as a model regarding standards that would need to be observed in similar projects in the future.