Updated: Minister denies ditching gas pipeline

Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt has denied ditching a gas pipeline proposal 10 years ago, saying that this was a Cabinet decision based on the exorbitant costs involved. “When I became minister the decision had basically already been taken. Formally, it could have been taken under my jurisdiction but everything was already concluded,” he told timesofmalta.com.   A former Enemalta manager wrote in The Times today accusing the minister of causing the loss of a potentially favourable gas investment some 10 years ago. John Pace recounts how negotiations with Italian energy giant Eni fell through when Dr Gatt replaced Josef Bonnici as minister responsible for Enemalta. But the minister said this morning that the two main reasons for ditching the pipeline idea was that it could have cost around €300 million and when was factored into the end price, it would have been prohibitive. It also did not make sense to agree to a 25-year contract with Eni with a “take or pay” clause which meant Malta would have had to pay even for gas it did not consume.  “Also, it wasn’t quite the time to change the power stations and make them gas-firing,” Dr Gatt said. Dr Gatt pointed out that the original...