Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1480970
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 OCTOBER 2022 NEWS NEWS MOTHERWELL Bridge Industries, the Malta-based engineering company, has won contracts for crane assembly and specialist team deployment at major con- tainer terminals for Finnish lifting spe- cialist Konecranes in Scotland, Germany, Belgium, South Korea and the US. The contracts have been awarded for the assembly and commissioning of one rubber-tyred gantry crane in Blackford in Scotland and five in Chicago. Motherwell Bridge Industries has also been entrusted with the provision of specialist techni- cians to assemble straddle carrier cranes in Bremerhaven in Germany, Zeebrugge in Belgium, and in Busan and Hyundai in South Korea. These projects are expect- ed to be completed by the year's end. "Motherwell Bridge Industries has worked hard to build a track record for excellence over the years and we have consistently succeeded in completing projects on time and on budget wherev- er we have operated around the world," Motherwell Bridge Industries Managing Director Tony Mallia said. "These latest contracts awarded by Konecranes are testament to our teams' work ethic and professionalism." Motherwell Bridge Industries has been a preferred sub-contractor for Kone- cranes since 2005 and has assembled more than 350 cranes at key ports across all continents. Additionally it has built a long-standing relationship with the national port terminal, Malta Freeport Terminals, where a dedicated team is responsible for the maintenance and servicing of all container handling equip- ment. The company's Casablanca-based sub- sidiary Techniplus is entrusted with similar maintenance and servicing re- sponsibilities at Morocco's main ports at Casablanca, Tangiers, Agadir and Jorf Lasfar. In 2020 alone, the companies jointly assembled and commissioned 22 rubber-tyred gantry cranes at Tangiers, and are currently collaborating on other projects internationally. Motherwell Bridge wins major crane contract at international Konecranes terminals Clyde Caruana: Energy, grain subsidies will last even if Ukraine war escalates Motherwell Bridge Industries has been a preferred sub-contractor for Konecranes since 2005 and has assembled more than 350 cranes at key ports across all continents CLYDE Caruana has reiterated govern- ment's willingness to continue subsidis- ing energy and grains with projections based on the belief that the Ukraine war will escalate. The Finance Minister said the deci- sion to spend millions on energy and food subsidies was intended to shield people and the economy from dispro- portionate burdens. "I am not in a position to predict what will happen in Ukraine but from what I am seeing the situation is likely to esca- late but this government is committed to continue supporting families and busi- nesses," Caruana said when interviewed by Saviour Balzan on TVM's Xtra. Government will be spending €470 million in energy and grain subsidies this year and is earmarking more than €600 million for next year. Caruana said the subsidies are con- tributing to Malta's deficit but govern- ment was also prioritising expenditure to keep debt levels within sustainable levels. Opposition finance spokesperson Je- rome Caruana Cilia criticised govern- ment for being wasteful with its cro- nies but was demanding sacrifices from everyone else. On Air Malta, the minister reiterated his resolve to solve the ailing airline's problems but admitted this would cost millions of euros. "There are contracts and agreements with workers that do not make sense but we are negotiating with their rep- resentatives changes to ensure sustain- ability for the airline," he said. Caruana said the agreements could not simply be scrapped because there are obligations but discussions are un- derway. In her contribution to the programme, Chamber of Commerce President Mari- sa Xuereb said government should carry out an audit of public sector em- ployment and offer options for extra workers to be seconded with the pri- vate sector. She also called for compa- nies that fail to pay their tax dues to be blacklisted from public contracts, while companies that pay on time should be incentivised by cutting the top tax rate to 25% from 35%.