Carmel Cacopardo, AD spokesperson on Sustainable Development and Local Government, has emphasised that in the public tender relative to the sewage purification plant in the South of Malta, mistakes made at the Gozo plant, with regards to the technology used, should not be repeated.

"Minister Austin Gatt confirmed in parliament last week that all the water produced at the Gozo plant is being discharged into the sea, as this is not fit as second class water."

"Considering that Malta is the ninth driest country in the world, the Maltese government should ensure that the tender for the south plant sewage plant should ensure that the technology used is such that the plant can produce water that is fit for agricultural and other uses which do not require potable water such as street cleaning and in industrial processes. The treated water is too precious a resource to be discarded," Carmel Cacopardo concluded.

Alternattiva Demokratika Chairperson, Arnold Cassola, said that it is extremely frustrating that every time a public contract of substantial proportions is awarded, there is always a competing company contesting the award of the tender through the Maltese Courts.

"These delays are not only frustrating, but they are also very detrimental to the Maltese economy, with hundreds of thousands of euros spent in the process and months if not years in delays, as regards completion targets."

"What seems certain is that there is something wrong with the public tendering procedure and adjudicating process. We need to ensure full transparency in the award of such tenders," concluded Prof. Cassola.