The Nationalist Party took aim at the government for 'wasting' €4 million in public funds.

"After four years of being abandoned and not operating, the Government has finally decided to repair the grain silo crane of Kordin with an investment of €4 million from public funds" the PN noted.

In a press statement signed by PN MP Spokesperson for Maritime Ivan Castillo, the opposition said that  last device installed has a pumping capacity of 600 tonnes per hour of grain, whilst the one before pumped 1200 tonnes per hour.

 "The four years of apathy also brought a loss of more than €3 million in transshipment", the statement read.

"This Government has once again thrown away and misused public funds worth millions. This means that the operations are taking twice as long, thus creating chaos and a huge loss of money for the workers who are paid by the tonne and not by the day. "

Additionally, the PN said that this issue has also increased the operating and labour costs of the Kordin Grain silo and the occupation of extra berthing time in the port.

Moreover, the reach of the crane is also restricted, meaning larger bobcats are needed to collect the grain at the bottom of the vessel, it said. The PN said that this creates a further problem as Bobcats have a limited mobility due to their size.

 "This incompetence will also have a negative effect on the attractiveness of Malta in the transshipment of cereals, since the vessels are taking twice as long until the operations are completed."

It further added that this issue is creating a situation of price instability, where at times these can also reach new highs.

"All this gives a very different picture from the one promised by Minister (for Economy) Silvio Schembri who in a press conference on June 15, 2022 promised smooth and more efficient operations, cost reduction, and that this crane (the new one) would be state of the art and able to serve much larger vessels."

The PN questions how the government will fulfil its promises with a crane operating with half the capacity of the previously installed machine.