Minister: nothing inappropriate about choice of Elbros for renovation work

Small Business minister Jason Azzopardi has denied that construction giants Elbros Construction had accepted to carry out the simple renovation of his Paola constituency office as a "favour" after his own plasterer turned down the job.

Questioned by MaltaToday as to whether his choice of Elbros - the company to which his ministry recently granted a 65-year lease on the MCP car park of Floriana - was at worst "inappropriate" and impolitic of him, Azzopardi said he could not wait "indeterminately" after his original workman dropped out of the job.

"The plasterer I asked to do the work dropped out around March due to family reasons. I needed my constituency office to be ready as elections are near and I couldn't wait indeterminately."

Azzopardi, who paid Elbros €4,471 for the work carried out, said works on his office started at end-August, but that negotiations on the MCP car park lease had started back in 2010 and concluded in February 2012, with the final negotiation package presented to the Cabinet on 6 March.

"I paid for the work carried out. I have invoices that prove the payment. I have nothing to hide," he said.

"The original plasterer suggested another worker - one who happened to be employed with Elbros Company. Not everyone does this job manually and I wanted it done by hand," he insisted.

"My office is situated along the main road in Paola which means that around 12,000 cars pass daily in front of my office. The works were carried out during the day, they lasted for some six weeks and the company's van together with the workers were right there for everyone to see," Azzopardi said, insisting that this proved he never tried to hide anything.

When news broke in the Sunday Times that Azzopardi had contracted Elbros to carry out the works, the newspaper pointed out that it had contacted the company for a quotation for similar renovation works, but that the company's replay was to seek other contractors who worked on individual projects.

But both Azzopardi and Elbros chairman Saviour Ellul have denied this aspect of the newspaper's report.

"If you contact the company it will tell you that it carries out residential jobs. The journalist wasn't precise and the company has also requested the newspaper to correct its article," Azzopardi said.

Azzopardi also claimed the reporter who asked him to comment on the story had claimed an MP was "brewing some story" about him.

On his part, Elbros chairman Saviour Ellul told MaltaToday that when the Sunday Times contacted his company it had asked for a quote on the plastering of a cornice and other small work.

"What we did at Azzopardi's office - and what we have been doing in the past and today on residential homes - was restoration work. What the journalist asked was different," Ellul said.

He said that he had also requested a meeting with the journalist to set the record straight after the report was published.

The government recently granted an additional 65-year lease extension to the MCP car park, which is operated by the Elbros group. Government will also pay MCP €3.2 million annually to acquire 100 parking slots in the new extension.

The MCP car park will be extended to eventually host a total 1,150 cars, 402 of which will be new car spaces. A resolution was presented in Parliament on 3 October to extend the lease of the car park by a further 65 years once the current one expires in 2041.