Updated | New CEOs at Air Malta, Water Services Corporation and Enemalta

Former Air Malta chief engineer Louis Giordimaina will return to the national airline as chief executive.

The airline announced Giordimaina's designation in a week marked by a series of decisions on government ranks: with the resignation of Tony Meilaq from ARMS, Enemalta's billing company, the stage was set to move Giordimaina out of his position of chief executive of Enemalta.

Water Services Corporation chief executive Frederick Azzopardi is set to take Giordimaina's post, while the new chairman at the WSC will be Dr John Abela.

Tony Meilaq will resign from chairman of the WSC and ARMS.

Louis Giordimaina has over 36 years' experience in the aviation industry, having joined Air Malta' engineering department in 1975 as an aircraft engineer. He occupied various positions in the engineering department with additional active roles in the airline strategic planning, aircraft purchasing, sale and leasing as well as contract negotiations. In 1994 he was appointed the first Maltese chief engineer of the national airline.

He was instrumental in the setting-up Lufthansa Technik Malta, a joint venture between Lufthansa Tecknik and Air Malta, of which he was appointed CEO in 2002. He occupied this role until 2011 after which he was retained as director of the company until September 2013.

In 2006 he also spearheaded Lufthansa Technik Malta's expansion, which saw the construction of new hangers and facilities. After this expansion, the company increased its local workforce from 140 to 600 to become one of the major worldwide Maintenance and Repair Organisation (MRO) players, based in the centre of the Mediterranean.

In 2008 he was appointed chairman of the Water Services Corporation and in November 2011 he was appointed executive chairman of Enemalta.

An aircraft engineer by profession, Giordimaina also read business management at Warwick University, UK. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Current chief executive Peter Davies's contract comes to an end in April 2014. At 64, the Welshman steered the airline through a €230 million restructuring plan mandated by the European Commission, stabilising Air Malta's balance sheet and halve the airline's losses from €78 million in 2011 to €30.9 million in 2013.

In a statement, the Ministry for Tourism welcomed the appointment of Giordimaina to Air Malta, whose appointment will come into force as from 1 January 2014.

"Air Malta's decision confirms that a person shouldn't be a foreigner to occupy top positions in a government company," the ministry said.

It added that government believes Giordimaina has all the necessary requisites and required experience to occupy the post.

The ministry drew attention to the fact that Giordimaina's appointment is taking place during Air Malta's "delicate" restructuring process, which is spread over five years and was agreed to by the European Commission and the previous administration.