Government had taken insurance risk for possible LPG explosion

The Maltese government had decided to underwrite an insurance risk for Enemalta, after it relocated a gas storage plant from Qajjenza in Birzebbugia, to Bengħisa – right in the middle of the Malta International Airport’s flight-path.

Cabinet papers from 2006 show that after the relocation of the LPG storage plant from Birzebbugia, the director of civil aviation raised serious concerns over the fact that the new Bengħisa plant was sited in the flight path of the Malta International Airport.

The government agreed to take up the civil aviation’s suggestion that it should underwrite the plant against the risk of an explosion due to an aircraft incident, even though the possibility of this happening was remote.

In the Cabinet memo, the following comment is noted: “Studies also show that the probability of an aircraft accident occurring in the final approach area is greater than at any other place during flight.” 

The Department of Civil Aviation had then said that it “therefore always maintained that development in this area should be discouraged, the risk to the LPG plant as a result of an aircraft impact could gave serious implications on a national scale.”

The revelation comes in the wake of a political controversy over the siting of the natural gas vessel next to the Delimara power station, inside Marsaxlokk harbour.

The correspondence and memo in 2006 continued: “Notwithstanding these concerns, the project is going to be proceeded with a number of measures.”

Among these measures, the minister at the time, Austin Gatt, said he would ensure that the plant is divided into as many protected compartments as necessary to contain an explosive effect. 

Another consideration was an early warning system that would inform Malta International Airport of an impending accident.

The minister said that the system would be created in such a way so that the blast would be directed horizontally, and not projected vertically into the air.

Furthermore, the Cabinet instructed the minister to seek an insurance cover for Enemalta and confirmed that government would underwrite Enemalta against any risk and damages to third parties that may arise from operations by Enemalta.

Ironically in 1987, the department of civil aviation had objected to the siting of the new power station at Bengħisa because of conflicts with the flight path. Then prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami had argued that he could not ignore the civil aviation’s concerns, and went for the Delimara site instead of the disused quarry at Bengħisa.