Sep 29 - GSD Says New Power Station Is Unlikely To Be Completed Before 2017
The GSD has today said it notes the comments by the Deputy Chief Minister that the Power Station will not be completed before the next General Election. The party says that, at this rate, the Government may not even commence works on the Power Station before the next election, “which is remarkable,” it notes, “given that this, together with the tunnel under the runway, are the most important and pressing of all infrastructure improvements necessary for the continued economic development of this community.” The party says that it is also remarkable given the regular power cuts being experienced by this community.
Regarding the comments made by the Chief Minister that the Government has just signed an agreement with Shell for the latter to conduct a study in relation to the supply of LNG from the proposed LNG installation at the detached mole to the proposed Power Station at the North Mole , the Opposition says that this “further demonstrates the woeful lack of progress on this project.”
Jaime Netto, said: "Nearly three years after the GSLP was elected into office and the scrapping of ready to go plans for the construction of a power station at Lathbury Barracks, the Government has still not even started on the construction of the new Power Station. Indeed, it seems unlikely that it will be completed before 2017 at the earliest. Firstly, the LNG installation needs to be built at the detached mole. There are still questions, which I have asked in Parliament, which need to be answered, not least whether appropriate studies have been completed showing that it is safe to construct such an installation at the detached mole or any other location in Gibraltar given our population density. Under EU regulations, the Government needs to undertake a study concerning the safety of distances between an LNG installation and other sites around it, including residential areas. Both the Leader of the Opposition and I have asked about this without receiving a satisfactory response. Secondly, the Government is still vague about the specific intended location of the new Power Station indicating plans are still not fully in place in this respect further bringing into question the overall timeline of the project.
"We remain very concerned about the safety implications of an LNG installation and Power Station supplied by LNG so near a residential estate. Whilst we are prepared to back a Government project that is vital to Gibraltar's continued economic development, in the light of the lack of information on health and safety and the lack of progress, we have to reserve our position. We hope therefore the Government provides the public, the media and the Opposition with all the information we need to make to these assessments."
