Bad weather last month delayed the offloading of two 36-tonne gas turbines that are currently being installed at the new gas-fired plant in Delimara.

ElectroGas general manager Catherine Halpin said marine works also had to be suspended last month.

She explained that more workers are being brought in to make up for lost time, and said she is optimistic that the plant will be operational by June 2016 as planned.

The first gas turbine has been mounted in place, and the second is expected to be mounted shortly.

The third gas turbine will arrive in Malta on Sunday. The shipment of the turbines was staggered for insurance purposes.

Ms Halpin explained that the offloading of the turbines is an extremely delicate day-long process.

She said the arrival of the turbines on site is the biggest milestone of the whole project.

The turbines will undergo a few months of testing before any oils or gases are put through the system.

She also explained how all excavation waste is tested and then dumped offshore.

The turbines are SGT-800s, which been sold by Siemens since 1998.

270 of these turbines have been sold world-wide with more than 3.3 million fleet hours of operation on the clock.

The SGT-800s have enjoyed a 99.4 per cent fleet reliability over the past five years, with an average time between forced outage of 5306 hours.

The SGT-800 also offers fuel flexibility, meaning different fuel mixtures can be burnt in the turbine.

Photo by Jonathan Borg