The government won't make any decisions about the Steward hospitals concession agreement until January, when the courts will rule on whether the contract should be rescinded or not.

The government, said Health Minister Chris Fearne, will wait for Mr. Justice Francesco Depasquale's verdict, which is anticipated at the end of January, in the case filed by PN MP Adrian Delia in order for the concession to be scrapped.

Fearne, who was answering questions by the media after addressing a budgetary press conference on Thursday dodged the question when asked when Steward Healthcare would construct the "state of the art" hospital in Gozo, which is one of its contractual obligations.

Instead, he insisted that the Gozo General Hospital and Karin Grech Hospital would receive the appropriate funding.

For the upcoming year, Steward Healthcare will receive approximately €80 million from the government, which Fearne said the company will use to run the two hospitals, pay staff their wages and buy necessary equipment.