Publish Date : 15-Nov-2018
The Minister for Energy and Water Management announced that Joe Mizzi been assigned three development contracts and eventually, the realization of Melita Transgas (MTG) pipeline that will be connecting to the Network of Malta Gas Pipeline Trans-European.
Thanks to the work being done by the Energy and Water Agency, the project is progressing steadily and had reached every target within the stipulated time. Now, the project entered the phase of detailed studies and technical design, which will eventually are leading the implementation of the project.
During a news conference f'Kalanka, Delimara, about one kilometer away from where they will start one of the studies, the Minister Joe Mizzi recalled that the fact that the project has been identified as a project of common interest makes it possible to benefit from EU funds for both studies and works. In fact, the project has already benefited from 4 million in funding through the Connecting Europe Facility program (CEF), which includes financing of 50% of the studies to be carried out under these three contracts, and their value is more than 4.3 million.
The Minister said that the plan is that by 2020, Malta has applied for EU financing for the construction of the pipeline, which is valued at 350 million. He added that the award of these contracts for marine survey and environmental and technical studies is a milestone very important for the realization of this project, because by virtue of these studies can ensure that permits are issued in the shortest time and take stage to move to the phase of putting the pipeline and the terminal building and f'Gela Delimara stations in Sicily.
He said that the Government is committed to implement this project as soon as possible and once commissioned, the pipeline to replace the temporary LNG tanker Delimara. The goal is to achieve by 2020 all permits, so it can issue a call for tenders for the construction of the project and apply for European funds. The plan is to work on the project construction to start by 2022 and be completed by the end of 2024.
During the news conference, the Minister announced that established a public company that will handle the implementation of the project and after, its operation as the'Transmission System Operator. This company was given the same title of the project announced today for the first time, it Melita Transgas pipeline. The project logo represents the union of Malta with Sicily and the rest of Europe through this pipeline.
The first contract, which was won by the Italian specialized company, Lighthouse SpA will be watching the performance of the Preliminary Marine Route Survey, which is a detailed study of the proposed route for seabed pipeline from Delimara in Malta to Gela in Sicily. This survey will be done through the vessel Odin Finder is specially designed and equipped for this type of work. This will also be collecting samples of the seabed route to offshore who will be tested and analyzed in laboratories to gather more information. Two other ships are going to make the survey near the shore, while barges will be used for drilling samples in these areas. In addition, contractors will be appointed in charge of geotechnical investigations near the shores of Delimara and Gela.
In July 2017, the Ministry of Energy and Water Management started the preliminary stage of the application for the permit in Malta and in Italy through a formal submission to the respective competent authorities of necessary documentation. Recognizing the importance of the project, the competent authorities is formally requested detailed studies, including an assessment of the environmental impact in both countries. For this purpose, made a series of public consultations and been issued an invitation to tender was won by a joint venture led by the Maltese company AIS Environment Ltd, which will be supported by two Italian companies; CESI SpA and VDP Srl.
The third and last call for tender was won by the Italian joint venture, made Techfem Spa and Systems Projects Services Srl. This joint venture will be responsible for the execution of the Front End Engineering Design (FEED), ie the contractor must provide every element of the engineering designs and specifications forming part of the project covering both routes on the ground, as well as marine, terminal stations and Delimara f' ela, sharing of infrastructure all along the route, as well as the related control and communication systems project.
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