Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/380554
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2014 10 News Most of the concrete used at Mater Dei supplied by Blokrete MIRIAM DALLI MOST of the concrete used in the construction of Mater Dei Hospital was supplied by Blokrete Ltd, one of the Maltese contractors in the con- sortium made up of Swedish firm Skanska and the other Maltese con- tractor, Devlands Ltd. Architect Joseph Cassar, founder partner at Cassar Grech Ebejer, con- firmed that concrete was supplied mainly by Blokrete. "Concrete was mainly supplied by Blokrete. But if I remember correctly, there were also other suppliers at the early stages of the project that in- cluded Mixer Ltd and Tal-Maghtab Construction," he said. Attempts to contact Blokrete direc- tor Joseph Fenech proved to be futile as he is currently physically indis- posed. Cassar was a member of the execu- tive board representing Blokrete and Devlands. He was "mainly involved in the administration" of the contract. A police investigation, a board of inquiry and the parliamentary health committee will all be investigating and establishing how a number of concrete structures at the Accident and Emergency Department were constructed using concrete of inferior quality. The discovery was made after con- tractors Attard Bros and Mekkanika, who won the tender to build two new wards on the A&E department, carried out stress tests on columns. According to the government, three different stress tests concluded that concrete used on certain pillars was too weak to carry the weight of two additional wards. A new site has since been identified for the wards. The pillars in question were built in early 1996, between February and March. While Skanska has expressed sur- prise at the news of weak concrete, confirming that no one from the Maltese authorities had contacted it, the Maltese contractors have so far refused to speak up. Cassar Grech Ebejer, an architec- tural firm, took over the design re- sponsibility between 1999 and 2000 after a previous firm had its contract terminated. On his part, Cassar categorically denied ever receiving information that concrete used may have been of an inferior quality. Like a second CGE director, Mario Grech, Cassar insisted that Skanska had a quality control and assurance programme that was thoroughly fol- lowed. "As a member of the executive board representing Blokrete and Devlands, I was mainly involved in the administration of the contract. However, I can tell you that we never received information that concrete used was not up to standard as stipu- lated in the contract," Cassar said. Insisting that it was not the function of the executive board to see to the technical side of things, Cassar said it was the responsibility of people on site, mainly people from Skanska. "Skanska had its own project man- ager, project leader, procurement manager, technical manager and cost controller, among others. Quality control and assurance was solely the responsibility of Skanska." In a report comparing four short- listed tenderers, the evaluation com- mittee had described the joint ven- ture as being made up of "one of the leading European companies" and "well-known Maltese civil contrac- tors". "The joint venture has the necessary expertise to carry out the project", the committee had noted, adding that 35 sub-contractors covering 17 areas of work were "deemed to be reliable". "There were various subcontrac- tors, not only on masonry and con- crete works but also on electrical and mechanical," Cassar said when asked who these subcontractors were. Asked to confirm who the archi- tects on the project were, Cassar said he didn't know but confirmed that the information was available from MEPA applications. England & England were the first architects and civil engineers to work on the project. By mid-1996, the architects, according to planning applications available on MEPA's website, changed and were tempo- rarily replaced by architect Vincent Cassar, then director of the Works Division, formerly known as Public Works. A new call was issued and awarded to a foreign company, represented locally by the late architect Lawrence Mintoff and architect Edgar Rossig- naud. Subsequently, under the Nation- alist administration, the contract was given to Skanska joint venture design and construct who appoint- ed White, a Swedish architectural firm whose local representative was Mario Grech, of CGE, supported by the late structural engineer Karmenu Busuttil. Several attempts to contact archi- tect Richard England proved to be futile. He is however reported by the Times of Malta saying that he had been "kicked out" before the build- ing phase started. A MEPA application, dated 5 Feb- ruary, 1996, lists England & England as the architect applying to construct and carry out alteration works at San Raffaele Hospital, as Mater Dei was then known. "When we were still involved, that building was not part of the scheme. When we were involved, the hos- pital had 400 beds. Then we were kicked out and the size doubled, so I know nothing about it," England was reported saying by The Times of Malta. Architect who represented Maltese companies in Skanska joint venture says they never received information that concrete was not up to standard as laid down in the contract Blokrete Ltd supplied most of the concrete used at Mater Dei