Minister for Environment Aaron Farrugia said in Parliament on Tuesday that the tender for the Maghtab incinerator will be re-issued after no bids were submitted for the operation of the waste-to-energy facility.

Farrugia was asked by PN Whip Robert Cutajar about the shortlisted companies which failed to submit a final bid on the incinerator project. Cutajar also asked about the risk assessment report for the incinerator, which Farrugia failed to present.

“Studies by experts, which are public, have indicated that Malta does indeed need an incinerator,” said Farrugia, adding that the identified location, that of Maghtab, was also the ideal location for the incinerator.

Farrugia said that excavation for the incinerator will be starting in the coming weeks, and the tender will be re-issued to determine a chosen bidder.

Cutajar questioned the fact that there is no bid for the incinerator project, highlighting the fact that this shows a lack of trust in the project. Farrugia rebutted this by emphasising that the reasons why a tender has not yet been chosen was because of the Covid-19 pandemic, as the supposed bidder, withdrew their bid due to the pandemic.

The government’s ‘Plan B,’ is the commencement of the excavation for the incinerator which will follow the timeline allocated, said Farrugia. The tender for the technology provider that will operate the plant for 20 years will be chosen in the meantime, he said.

In October 2020, three consortia were shortlisted by Wasteserv after they responded to a pre-qualification questionnaire for the €400 million investment, made up of €190 million to build and a further €200 million to run over two decades.

The three bidders were FCCMA-Hitachi JV Malta, Urbaser-Terna and Consortium Suez-Tecnimont-Termomeccanica.

PN MP Maria Deguara asked the minister about the environmental impacts the incinerator will cause, specifically that of air quality in the surrounding area. Farrugia assured that due to the project being dubbed as the ECOHIVE Complex, the facility will be of state-of-the-art quality and will not generate harmful debris in the area. The complex will include a new recycling facility and a new organic processing plant.

The proposal for the project, which was objected to by several environmental NGOs and neighbouring councils was given the go-ahead by the planning authority earlier this month. The Environment and Resources Authority gave its approval last year.