Three years on, and Big-Talking Blackheath Konrad still hasn’t delivered

I think we should now be beyond the point of doubt that Konrad Mizzi’s “costed, concrete and doable”
power station is just like his mysteriously fabulous home with garage in London, the one that makes necessary a company in Panama, a trust in New Zealand and a whole tranche of estate-planning – and then turns out to be a cramped end-of-terrace new-build in a depressing part of Blackheath where life and hope go to die for £365,000.

Three years down the line and the power station that was supposed to be commissioned within 18 months (well, that was a laugh) is moved from one point of chaos to another. First the original lead shareholder in Electrogas Malta Ltd – which was technically bankrupt already at the point when it signed with Konrad Mizzi, Minister for Energy, was forced to pull out.

Then Electrogas Malta went hunting round the world for some bank to lend it the money it needed for the project (because of course, Successful Baron Konrad of Blackheath hadn’t thought it necessary to discuss project financing up ahead with his corrupt friends) and was unsuccessful. So then Successful Baron Konrad of Blackheath and his hunting partner, Robber Baron Joseph of Burmarrad and possibly the UAE, had the Bank of Valletta come up with €101 million of the goods in return for the government guaranteeing the debt to the tune of €88 million, using the public’s hard-earned money.

Then the government led by Konrad of Blackheath and Joseph of Burmarrad, somehow ended up guaranteeing
practically all of Electrogas Malta’s debts and loans to the tune of €368 million.

Meanwhile, the process for the supply of gas becomes increasingly expensive and complicated, while the government that created this unspeakable and unbelievably crazy and very, very expensive mess carries on boasting that it took €300 million from the Chinese government for a stake in Enemalta Corporation.

And back in February, Muscat said that the Electrogas power station would be commissioned by the summer. Friends, he lied again. The screenshot below is of a Reuters interview with Socar CEO Arzu Azimov, on 24 February last. In the penultimate paragraph he says that gas supplies to Malta are due to begin next year.