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Kurt Sansone
The building purchased by the Maltese government in the heart of Brussels has to be cleared of cancer-causing asbestos, MaltaToday has learned. The operation to rid Malta House of asbestos forms part of the refurbishment process, expected to cost Lm2.5 million.
Asked by MaltaToday whether government was aware of the presence of asbestos before purchasing the building, the Office of the Prime Minister said the “removal of asbestos is the responsibility of the seller and was included in the costs for the refurbishment.”
The OPM did not say what share of the refurbishment cost was attributable to asbestos removal.
Asbestos clearing operations are known to be very expensive, requiring specialised personnel and equipment to carry out the job. Suffice to say that at the Drydocks, foreign specialised workers have to be brought in whenever a ship containing asbestos enters the dock for repairs.
Only last month the European Commission moved back to its old building, just a couple of blocks away from Malta House, after an extensive asbestos-clearing operation that took years to complete.
In the 1930s it was discovered that when microscopic asbestos fibres become airborne they can be inhaled, settling in the lungs and possibly causing cancer. It is the fineness of the asbestos fibres that makes its removal a delicate and expensive operation.
Malta House has been at the centre of raging controversy ever since MaltaToday first broke the story on 27 June this year about the price government was going to pay for the building that is to house the permanent representation to the EU. The purchase of the building at such a lucrative price was “conceived, controlled and pushed” by Richard Cachia Caruana, in the words of former minister John Dalli.
The choice of experts was also Cachia Caruana’s, giving rise to accusations of nepotism after it transpired that he chose close friend Peter Caruana Galizia as lawyer and his personal architect Martin Xuereb to be involved.
The nine-storey block was purchased for Lm6.5 million and an additional Lm2.5 million are required for refurbishment, according to the government estimate.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has repeated more than once that government intends leasing out three or four floors for commercial purposes even though it is still unclear whether renting out would cause government to lose its tax exemptions. Questions put by MaltaToday in this regard have remained unanswered by government saying it was waiting for a reply on the tax issue from its Belgian consultants, KPMG. Almost a month since this newspaper first put questions to the Prime Minister, the reply from his communications officer remains: “We will give them to you when we have them.”
The building is in a shabby state and requires extensive upgrading works.
Up until today, no details have been given as to what refurbishment works are required and much less information has been forthcoming about the need to remove asbestos.
kurt@newsworksltd.com
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