Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546635
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 SEPTEMBER 2026 NEWS THIS IS A PAID COLLABORATION Bolt appoints Karl Laspina and Clément Lecomte to lead ride-hailing and delivery in Malta BOLT has appointed Karl Laspina as General Manager of its ride-hailing business in Malta and Clément Lecomte as General Manager of De- livery, strengthening the company's local leadership as it enters its next phase of growth in the country. Karl joined Bolt in 2022 as Operations Manager, while Clément joined the company in 2024 as Strategy and Op- erations Manager. Through their work with Bolt's custom- ers and local partners, they have developed extensive knowledge of the Maltese market and the communities the company serves. Based in Malta, Karl and Clé- ment will lead Bolt's two main services locally. Their appoint- ments strengthen Bolt's es- tablished local presence and reinforce its commitment to understanding how people in Malta live, travel, eat and shop. They will also help en- sure that customers, drivers, couriers, restaurants, stores and other partners have ac- cessible local leadership with whom they can engage di- rectly. As General Manager of ride-hailing, Karl will focus on making Bolt an even more re- liable and accessible part of Malta's transport network. His priorities will include improv- ing the experience of riders and drivers, strengthening re- lationships with local partners and stakeholders, and ensur- ing the service continues to respond to the everyday mo- bility needs of residents. "Having worked directly with our operations in Malta since 2022, I have seen Bolt be- come part of the social fabric of these islands - the way you run an errand, get home safe- ly after an event, or make the daily commute to and from work," said Karl Laspina, Gen- eral Manager of ride-hailing at Bolt Malta. "Our next chapter must be shaped even more closely by the people who live and work here. My priority is to listen to riders and drivers, understand where we can im- prove, and continue building a genuine transport alterna- tive for Malta: one that is safe, dependable and affordable." Clément will lead Bolt's de- livery business, with a focus on making the service more closely reflect Malta's com- munities, tastes and everyday occasions. Drawing on his ex- perience in Bolt's strategy and operations team, he will work with restaurants, stores and couriers to keep the platform reliable, fair and affordable while helping local businesses reach more customers. "We want Bolt's delivery ser- vice to feel unmistakably local and closer to the way people in Malta actually live, eat and celebrate," said Clément Le- comte, General Manager of Delivery at Bolt Malta. "That means supporting the people who live here, as well as the restaurants and stores they order from and the couriers who help make the service possible. We want our part- ners and customers to know who they can speak to, and to trust that we are listening and building the service around their needs." Together, Karl and Clément will focus on making Bolt a vis- ible and accessible local part- ner, with services designed primarily around the needs of Malta's residents while con- tinuing to deliver a high-qual- ity experience for visitors. As a European mobility and delivery platform, Bolt re- mains committed to invest- ing in Malta, supporting local businesses and flexible earn- ing opportunities, and using technology to make everyday journeys, meals and purchas- es more convenient. Enemalta seeking bidders for new Malta-Gozo interconnector ENEMALTA has issued a pre-market consultation for a high-voltage interconnector to supply electricity to Gozo from Malta. The pre-market consultation, issued on 13 July 2026, seeks in- put on the design, construction and installation of a 132kV sub- marine and land cable intercon- nector linking the two islands. Earlier this month, Gozo was hit by a massive power outage that lasted hours after two of the 33kV cables currently sup- plying electricity to the island experienced faults. Almost all the island was without power as a heatwave hit the Maltese islands. During the 2026 general elec- tion campaign, Labour had pledged a €45 million invest- ment into a high-voltage inter- connector between Malta and Gozo. The subsea cable will span ap- proximately 20km, with land- falls at Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq near Magħtab in Malta and Għajn- sielem in Gozo, near the Gozo Sewage Purification plant. Land routes cover roughly 1km in Malta and under 2km in Gozo. The cable will cross three exist- ing 33kV submarine cables link- ing Malta and Comino and will terminate at an existing 145kV GIS switchgear at Magħtab TS. The subsea route passes near the Gozo Sewage Purification Plant at Ras il-Ħobż and an ex- isting Water Services Corpora- tion submarine sewage outfall pipe and fibre optic cable. The marine corridor also contains Posidonia Oceanica meadows, deep-water coral colonies, and marine conservation areas in- cluding the MV Pippo wreck and Ix-Xatt l-Aħmar. The project also requires an Environmental Impact Assess- ment. The consultation invites eco- nomic operators to provide in- put across seven key areas: The submarine 145kV cable design and construction; land-based 145kV single-core cable design and construction; marine sur- veying and route design; near- shore and offshore works at Għajnsielem; cable laying ves- sel specifications; subsea cable installation, burial methodolo- gy and directional drilling; and land-based high-voltage cabling installation. "The Contracting Authority acknowledges that site-specific parameters, including depth and thermal conditions, remain una- vailable and will accept submis- sions based on reasonable engi- neering assumptions, provided bidders clearly identify these as- sumptions and their impact on proposed solutions and costs," it reads. Bidders may submit respons- es at either a detailed level or a high-level. The pre-market con- sultation may be submitted by 23 September 2026. JULIANA ZAMMIT jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt The subsea cable will span approximately 20km, with landfalls at Bahar ic- Caghaq near Maghtab in Malta and Ghajnsielem in Gozo, near the Gozo Sewage Purification plant