Breaking news/New ‘Las Vegas’ lighting at the Auberge de Castille cost €300,000

Remember that – like many other news stories – you read this one here first. The government has paid €300,000 for the new and widely slated GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS lighting at the Auberge de Castille – and that is just for the supply, not for the design.

Tender 19/2015 was issued on 4 June by the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation (chairman: the Labour Party’s Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi), which is in the portfolio of Joe Mizzi, Minister for Transport. It closed on 15 July.

There was just the one bidder: the electrical and mechanical engineering supplies company, Raymond Vella & Co Ltd, which has an events lighting subsidiary called RVC Ltd.

Going through the core details of the tender, there doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. The date of issue and closure follow normal public procurement procedures. Questions arise on the following:

1. that such a complex tender had no requests for clarifications; this is either because the specifications were very clear after diligent market research by the government, or after the receipt of expressions of interest, or else the specifications were drawn up for one specific company and its specific products and services;

2. that there was just the one bidder for this prestigious project, in a market that is fighting for contracts of this nature, especially such significant ones; this might be because of the last reason in 1. above.

How much cancer treatment does €300,000 buy? Please consult Marie Louise Coleiro’s billboard to find out.

The former lighting was exactly what was required – but of course, they had to spend €300,000 (or more specifically, €298,505.76) turning it into an unreconstructed Piccadilly Circus.

The tender details are here, and you will find the link to the bill of quantities, which is described as the bills of quantity, below.