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PM suggests no due diligence report required on Chinese company
Chinese company entrusted with carrying out a feasibility study on the Gozo bridge ‘is the number one company in China’, Prime Minister insists.
25 June 2013, 12:00am
Miriam Dalli
Miriam Dalli
1 min read
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has suggested that no due diligence report was required on China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) since this was "the number one company in its sector in China".
Muscat was yesterday asked by Opposition MP George Pullicino whether a due diligence report was carried out by the government after MaltaToday's revelations the Chinese company was blacklisted by the World Bank.
The company will be conducting a detailed feasibility study on the possibility of a bridge connecting Malta and Gozo. The study is to cost €4 million but it will be paid for by the company itself.
In his reply, the Prime Minister said CCCC was the "number one company in China in its sector" and was owned by the Chinese government.
"Discussions on this project and other investment matters were held between the two governments," Muscat told Pullicino.
He added that the Maltese government had succeeded in negotiating a favourable agreement "with the Chinese government's number one company" where no cost would be shouldered by the Maltese government.
In opposition, the Labour Party had criticized the Nationalist government for commissioning German-owned Lahmeyer International as an energy consultant after being blacklisted by the World Bank until 2013 after it was found guilty of corruption.
Miriam Dalli joined MaltaToday.com.mt in 2010 becoming assistant editor f...
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The study has already been carried out by other Companies.
The veracity of the needs to build a permanent link to Gozo from Malta reminds us all of the farce of the Skye Bridge in Scotland...it was never needed and when it was built the ferry links of MacBrain were disconnected so that there was a huge Pay-as-you-Drive Toll which was declared illegal under International Courts review. Now there is no Toll and everyone except MacBrain is happy. However in a post-legal battle MacBrain will be compensated for loss of earnings back-dated 15 years and reaching €45 Million....the Government will be paying this.
In respect of the Bridge option - should it go ahead as planned - the location at the North of Gozo has its merits but the outcome should be a managed dual-carriageway with restrictions for heavy goods vehicles carrying fuels. They could be carried still by boat.
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There are numerous reasons for which a commercial entity can be blacklisted. Some are mere trivialities whilst other not.
The predecessor company which later on became CCCC seems to have had some disagreements in the Philippines years back. This resulted in a commercial dispute being registered against it by a country. For the World bank, this was reason enough to put the Company's name in its black books.
No fraud or misappropriation of funds were involved and no criminal activity attributed.
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Now stop and think for a minute! Why would a foreign company spend €4 million out of their own pocket just to find out if a bridge can be built between Malta and Gozo? If you believe that the Chinese Company is doing this out of their generosity, I own a fine igloo in the middle of the Sahara Desert I would like to sell you. Even Joseph Muscat is not "Chuc" enough to fall for that one, is he? Hallina Guz. Dr Muscat et al please do not try insult our intelligence. We are not "Cwiec", really. Tell us the whole story and maybe the people will believe you. You can fool the people some of the time but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time, quoting Abraham Lincoln.
