Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/453115
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 28 JANUARY 2015 6 JAMES DEBONO WHILE the BWSC agreement dealt with the construction of a new pow- er plant which remained under En- emalta's full ownership, the agree- ment with Shanghai Electric Power deals with four different things. These include: a Chinese minor- ity (30%) shareholding in Enemalta, a Chinese majority shareholding (70%) in the BWSC plant, a power purchase agreement between En- emalta and the Chinese owned BWSC plant and the creation of a new joint company in the renew- able energy field. Moreover while the former was an agreement signed with a private company the latter was signed with a company owned by another na- tion state. The lean 15-page agreement with Shanghai Electric Power simply refers to the shareholding of the new companies created in the en- ergy sector but does not include the crucial power purchase agree- ment regulating the sale of energy from the privatised BWSC plant to Enemalta. The agreement does oblige the Chinese state owned company to convert the BWSC plant to gas but includes no timeframes or penal- ties if these are not met. But unlike the PN government the PL government did not have to seek a waiver of confidentiality to pub- lish the agreement. A clause in the agreement states that "The parties consent to the government of Malta presenting this agreement to the Maltese par- liament should it consider this to be necessary". But the agreement not only refers to 'ancillary agreements' which are not published it does not include any clause regulating the resolution of conf licts between the two com- panies. Moreover the agreement refers to other "commercial agree- ments" that will take precedence over it. In contrast the 2,000 page BWSC contract, made up of documents in 11 volumes, was tabled in parlia- ment in May 2010 before a parlia- mentary debate on the controver- sial power station contract but only after the company waived a confi- dentiality clause. News Notice of meeting to be held in public e Malta Environment & Planning Authority will meet on ursday 29 th January, 2015 at 14:00 hours at the MEPA boardroom, St. Francis Ravelin, Floriana, to discuss the following: DETERMINATION OF DEVELOPMENT CONTROL APPLICATION: PA 2039/14: Site at, 21, Triq Tal-Qaċċa, Xagħra. Construction of two terraced dwellings. Works include alterations and extensions to existing farmhouse as per outline application PA 4890/08. Subject to the maximum seating capacity, seats can be reserved on request for the applicant and registered objectors. Remaining seating is lled on a rst come rst served basis. RESERVATIONS: 2290 2018 23 rd January, 2015 www.mepa.org.mt Transparency in contracts: How governments The PL government was faster in publishing its 15-page 'agreement' with Shanghai Electric Power – the PN government published a 2,000 page agreement with BWSC, signed in April 2009, a year later, after a 'confidentiality clause' was waived by the company and 11 confidential items were removed "Neither has the government published its agreement with Henley & Partners, the main concessionaires for Malta's sale of citizenship programme and its agreement with Spanish transport company Autobuses de Leon" Muscat criticized Prime Minister Gonzi for "humiliating himself" when he asked for BWSC's permission to publish the agreement reached on the new plant and then having to wait a week before he was granted permission to publish only parts of this contract PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD