Malta shipyard contracts ready

Local sources said that these are the first two privatisations to be concluded from the sale of the four units of the Malta Shipyards.

The Malta Shiprepair contract is ready to be awarded formally to Italian firm Palumbo, which already has yards in Naples and Messina, while the MIYY contract is to be awarded to the Manoel Island Yacht Yard Consortium made up of Bezzina Ship Repair Yard, Central European Advisors Ltd, Hili International, Midi, Mizzi Capital Projects and Virtu Steamship.

Should the government approve the contracts, parliament will need to vote on land transfer issues.

The privatisation of the shipbuilding yard in Marsa is also at an advanced stage, with Valletta Gateway Terminals as the preferred bidder, but the Malta Super Yacht Services tender went back to square one after neither of the two shortlisted bids was deemed to be acceptable. A fresh call for bids closes in the coming week.