News • February 1 2004

Replacement of hospital incinerator overdue – Louis Deguara

Julian Manduca

Health minister Dr Louis Deguara has told MaltaToday he would like to assure the residents living near St Luke’s hospital of his commitment to solve the problem in the shortest time possible.
The process to replace the incinerator is at least five years old and counting, and last August a tender process that was awarded by government was brought to a sudden halt after revelations in MaltaToday showed the manufacturers of the chosen equipment to be involved in a fraud scandal.
Asked when a new tender process would start, Deguara told MaltaToday that it had started last August: "The Ministry of Health has restarted the process for issuing a fresh call for tenders for the replacement of the hospital incinerator the moment that Sarrebico informed the Director of Contracts that it was unable to honour its commitment. "The Division of Health has submitted to the Director of Contracts the tender documentation for the latter to proceed for a fresh call for tenders."
However, there has, as yet, been no public call for tender five months from the collapse of the previous tender process.
Asked whether he felt the delay in having the incinerator replaced was acceptable, Dr Deguara said: "The Ministry of Health agrees that the introduction of new waste management technology has now been overdue because of a number of factors beyond its control."