An investigation into the fast-deteriorating concrete at the Ċirkewwa terminal may have been kept under wraps for even longer than reported yesterday.

In response to questions by Lovin Malta, the Transport Ministry said the investigative testing started in January 2019 by Socotec Ltd and an initial conclusion was received in May 2019.

But according to The Sunday Times, Transport Malta commissioned CTP Consulting to carry out an inspection back in May 2018 after staff complained of  “slabs of concrete falling off the underside of the bridge”. 

The public was never informed that the concrete was deteriorating faster than usual or what Transport Malta was doing about it.

Asked why the government never made the case public, the ministry spokeswoman said: “There was no particular reason – such issues occur from time to time and this case as usual is being tackled in a professional way so as to resolve the matter in the best way possible.”

Built by Charles ‘Ċaqnu’ Polidano’s Polidano Group, the EU-funded project cost around €10 million.

The Transport Ministry told Lovin Malta that it filed a judicial letter in court against the contractor, the architect and the project manager but discussions were ongoing with the concerned parties to find an “amicable solution”.

It was the Nationalist administration that spearheaded the project, as was the case with Mater Dei Hospital, which also resulted in a faulty concrete controversy.

But whereas the Labour government seized lots of political mileage from the Mater Dei Hospital concrete story, it never publicised what was happening at Ċirkewwa.

According to the CTP technical report quoted by The Sunday Times, the concrete on the bridge is showing serious signs of deterioration, with visible cracking, patches coming loose as well as hollow areas in the structure.

Tests also found that the concrete used on the bridge’s columns was even poorer than that used in the rest of the structure.

“The report recommends that in the short term, the hollow-sounding concrete should be removed and a new layer added to stop the carbonation. In the longer term, the report recommends that a detailed structural analysis of the terminal bridge be carried out to assess the extent of the damage and its impact on the structure’s weight-carrying capacity,” The Sunday Times said.

“The most comprehensive long-term measure, however, is to replace the concrete in the bridge’s columns, possibly using steel,” it added.

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