The Ministry for Gozo has said that it has followed established procedures and now awaits the advice of lawyers as to the necessary legal action that can be taken following the incident on Monday evening when a contractor working on the Xlendi road project, caused damage to a main sewer pipe.

The Ministry went on to say that it denied that it had no intentions on taking legal action against the contractor involved in the incident.

The damage caused to the pipe meant that untreated sewage flowed down into the inner part of the bay, so that swimming in the bay had to be stopped.

After the accident it took all the immediate action needed to prevent further damage and reduce the nuisance for residents, owners of establishments and visitors to Xlendi Bay. After days of testing the waters in the bay wereconfirmed as being free of contamination and fit for swimming, the Ministry said.

The Ministry said that it expects accountability from anybody working on projects in Gozo and that contractual obligations, including that of responsibility should always be observed.

The Gozo Ministry concluded by saying that the contract for the Xlendi road project followed a process of open tendering. An appeal made against the award of this contract had confirmed that the process of tendering was clean and transparent.

Permalink: Gozo Ministry awaits legal advice over Xlendi contamination