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WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT €1.00 WEDNESDAY • 6 MAY 2026 • ISSUE 989 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com. EDITORIAL • PAGE 11 Abela defends Castille exit on Workers' Day: 'I was working before the event' PRIME Minister Robert Abela has jus- tified emerging from Castille ahead of his 1 May speech because he was work- ing ahead, and before the event. "I was working at my office, I ad- dressed the country, and then I contin- ued working. It is my office," he said. During Labour's Workers' Day event in Castille Square, Abela exited Castille with his wife Lydia Abela through the main entrance. The stage was also set up directly in front of the building, sug- gesting the PM's exit was actually coor- dinated. People present at the event told Malt- aToday Abela was seen arriving exactly before speeches by deputy leaders Ian Borg and Alex Agius Saliba began. Abela defended the decision to exit through Castille's main entrance, say- ing it is his official office. The reply comes after Nationalist leader Alex Borg on Monday accused the Labour leader of blurring the lines between government and party. WEDNESDAY EDITION Prime Minister Robert Abela and other government officials arriving by ferry to the launch of the Sliema-Bugibba-Gozo ferry service (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) PN promises offshore bunkering facility on Hurd's Bank THE Nationalist Party is proposing the creation of a "Mediterranean Maritime Fuel Hub," which consists of building bunkering in- frastructure near Hurd's Bank. In a press conference on Tuesday morning, PN Leader Alex Borg said that this would be a new eco- nomic niche that would render Malta €450 million in the first three years of op- eration. The hub would also allow the LNG tanker moored at Delima- ra to be moved to Hurd's Bank. Hurd's Bank lies just outside of M a l t e s e t e r r i t o r i - al waters but forms part of Malta's Exclusive Economic Zone. During the press confer- ence, the PN e x p l a i n e d that Malta is situated right beside a mari- time high- way but isn't capitalising on its advantageous position. Borg described the cap- ital project as a win-win, noting that the project will add millions to Malta's economy without placing burdens on infrastructure or the environment. He promised that the project would be function- ing within the first legisla- ture of a new PN govern- ment. CONTINUES PAGE 3 KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt READ STORY PAGE 2