Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/722943
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2016 6 News CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Piscopo's company owns 14% of BBF Ltd, whose other sharehold- ers include Marie Claire Chircop, Analytic Investments Limited and Sap Holdings Limited. Undecim Five was set up by ac- countant Robert Borg, whom Piscopo described as "a personal friend". But Borg – whose office at the A3 Towers provides Undecim's let- terbox address – has also served as the General Workers Union's financial controller while having also until recently served as Trans- port Malta's board secretary. In May 2013, a couple of months after Labour's election victory, Borg was also appointed on the board of the Water Services Cor- poration, ARMS Ltd and the Malta Statistics Authority. A year later, Transport Malta decided to lease the GWU's prop- erty at the A3 Towers – built by the JPM Bros firm – for almost €500,000 a year. In a similar deal, ARMS Ltd, a firm owned by En- emalta and the WSC, rented out part of the GWU's headquarters in Valletta. Denying any conflict of interest, Borg had said that he declared his interest beforehand as the union's financial controller and left the meeting room when Transport Malta took the decision to award the €490,000 contract to the Gen- eral Workers' Union. So far, TM has refused to publish the contract it entered into with the union. Piscopo has refused to explain what services the company offers and whether the firm is active. "The reasons and objectives are clearly shown in the Memoran- dum and Articles of the company, which is available online. All infor- mation is in the public domain," Piscopo said. The Memorandum of Associa- tion confirms that Piscopo is the sole director and shareholder of the company whose main trading activity is "to act as a holding com- pany and thus hold equities and investments in other companies." Other ancillary activities listed in the document include: to enter in- to agreements with governments, authorities and private companies to obtain contracts, grants, rights, privileges and concessions "which the company may consider desir- able", management and company advisory services to local and for- eign companies, the import and export of a wide ranging list of goods including foodstuff, machin- ery, pharmaceuticals and precious metals and dealing in property. New direct order for lucrative Grand Harbour wharf MaltaToday understands that TM has awarded another conces- sion to a private company without a public competition. Sources close to the authority told MaltaToday that Boiler Wharf in Senglea was awarded by direct order to a private company. In its answers to MaltaToday, TM failed to explain who the op- erator is and how it adjudicated the concession. A TM spokesperson limited him- self to saying that Boiler Wharf is still fully managed by Transport Malta and it is still an auxiliary berth that acts as a Cruise Liner spillover berth when the Valletta Cruise Terminal is fully occupied whilst housing the operations of Transport Malta's Pollution Inci- dence and Response and Maritime Enforcement Units and those of Malta Maritime Pilots Coopera- tive. However, the TM spokesper- son added, "on a temporary, short term agreement, Transport Malta had to provide space to a private operator who has been relocated to Boiler Wharf for the loss of use of its facilities within the area now earmarked the Malta Maritime Hub, as it did with other operators elsewhere, accommodating their requests. Another operator has a one-year contract for temporary berthing facilities on a call-by-call basis." Although TM failed to identify the provider, MaltaToday under- stands that the wharf has been awarded to Polaris Marine Services Ltd. This is not the first direct order for the concession of quays in the Grand Harbour issued by the au- thority. In April 2014, MaltaToday re- vealed that TM awarded a lucra- tive direct order to Melita Ship- yards, incorporated just two weeks after the March 2013 elections, for a floating dock at Outer Coal Wharf in Marsa. Piscopo had confirmed with Mal- taToday that Melita was directly awarded the permit "because this was an immediate, realisable op- portunity that ought not to be missed". He said the operation was ex- pected to generate a turnover in the region of €10 million annually, and have a spillover effect for sub- contractors and related services. The 12-month agreement – which has apparently been re- newed – was similar to other agreements for use of other port areas, and renewable subject to the success of the operation and at TM's discretion. The operator is bound by a series of long-term conditions, including the engage- ment of four apprentices for three consecutive years, and a €4 mil- lion investment in infrastructure, equipment and upgrading of the area. Similarly, in May 2014, TM had awarded a direct order to Able- care Oilfield Services Holdings for the use of the former shipbuilding site in Marsa before the company was named as the preferred bidder for the development of a maritime hub in January 2015. While confirming that Ablecare was using the former Malta Ship- building site for the temporary berthing, repairs and maintenance of semi-submersible oil rigs, the authority had explained that the site "does not fall under the sole remit of Transport Malta". Piscopo had told MaltaToday the concession was "a typical positive case where different government entities collaborated proactively, in seizing an imminently realisable opportunity that could have been missed if we did not act promptly." jbalzan@mediatoday.com.mt New direct order for lucrative Senglea wharf MaltaToday understands that the wharf has been awarded to Polaris Marine Services Ltd, but the authority failed to identify the provider. This is not the first direct order for the concession of quays in the Grand Harbour issued by the authority.