A consortium that is competing for the tender to clean Mater Dei Hospital claimed yesterday that another consortium of companies that bid for the same contract was not composed entirely of cleaning companies and therefore should not have been allowed to submit its bid.

The consortium Servizzi Malta, which is composed of Bad Boy Cleaning Services Ltd, Euro Hygene International Ltd, MCCS Company Ltd and Coopservice S.Coop, filed an application last month for a warrant of prohibitory injunction to be issued to stop the adjudication process for cleaning services at the new hospital.

Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro, who is presiding over the case, yesterday heard lawyers arguing for and against the application, and the case was deferred to 14 August for a decision.

Dr Andrew Borg Cardona, representing Servizzi Malta, argued that the consortium had been excluded from the tendering process because one of the companies that form the consortium had a slight deficiency in its bid bond which, he said, still had a sufficiently long validity period.

Dr Borg Cardona also said that one of the companies forming the other consortium, which is the remaining bidder, did not qualify to bid since it did not have the requirements according to the Memorandum of Articles of Association. He said this bidder should have been eliminated from the tender adjudication process.

Dr Susan Scicluna, representing the Director of Contracts, argued that the tender was based on three packages in three phases. She said Servizzi Malta had been eliminated during the first phase due to the discrepancy in the bid bond, and the possibility of the other bidder being eliminated in another phase had not been excluded.

She said that if the tendering process is halted, the new Mater Dei Hospital will be without cleaning services.

The case continues.