Konrad Mizzi

Upon assuming office, as the Minister for Energy, Mizzi started implementing the Government’s energy plan with the primary aim of reducing utility tariffs. Following this implementation the government is calculated to have injected about €80 million in the national economy. Previously utility tariffs in Malta were considered amongst the highest tariffs in Europe, and following the reductions utility tariffs become the fourth cheapest in the European Union. This measure enabled the local industry to become more competitive.

This saw the transformation of the energy in Malta, contrasting with the situation when Mizzi was given the responsibility when Enemalta was close to declare bankruptcy, with €840 million in debt and was consecutively downgraded by Standard & Poor’s. This affecting the credit ratings of the country at the time.

The second pillar that would be sustaining cheaper utility tariffs in the long-term was the development of a gas fired power plant. The development of this project is based on a private-public partnerships model. The Delimara Power and Gas project is being developed by Electrogas Malta Limited, a consortium that includes SOCAR, Siemens and Gem Holdings. The consortium has been restructured following Gasol departure. Enemalta would be purchasing electricity. The local Opposition Party has been critical of this project since its details were announced, including the procurement process. However, following parliamentary questions in the European Parliament by Malta’s European People’s Party, the European Commission stated that there were no procurement violations.

Since Mizzi took over responsibility of Air Malta, the airline re-opened its Tunis and Frankfurt routes. The airline later made announcements on several other new routes, namely Manchester, Casablanca, Lisbon, St Petersburg, Kiev and Venice. Air Malta announced two additions to its fleet, by increasing to a total of 10 aircraft. On 19 June 2018, Air Malta received its first Airbus A320 Neo, branded in Nickelodeon special livery.

Mizzi worked on several new routes to and from Malta with different airlines. Apart from the increase in Air Malta flights, Mizzi announced new flights with Easyjet, and a pack of 12-new flights with Ryanair, following an investment of more than 100,000 Euro in a new aircraft based in Malta. These are additional from the new flights and routes announced by Air Malta which has increased 21 new routes as of September 2018.

Mizzi was re-elected on 3 June 2017 by four times as many votes as the 2013 election. He was then appointed by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to serve as the Minister for Tourism, officially since 9 June. Mizzi resigned from the role of Minister for Tourism on 26 November 2019.

After the 2017 election, Mizzi was then appointed Minister for Tourism. Immediately in his new role, he has set out an ambitious business and growth strategy for Air Malta, which builds on its current strengths including punctuality and good service. In view of this, Air Malta operates regular flights and will continue to increase their frequency to the region's key airports. One of the clear examples of decisions taken by the new Air Malta board appointed by Minister Konrad Mizzi, was the immediate re-introduction of the Frankfurt route. The Minister made it also clear that Air Malta will be introducing new routes, and announced an increase in its fleet as part of the new commercial strategy being adopted. The Minister together with Air Malta will in the coming months negotiate collective agreements, which will provide the airline with more flexibility that is required for growth and will also be fair to its employees.

The Gas power plant was officially opened in April 2017. The new power station was inaugurated minutes after the 25-year-old Delimara I power station was switched off. The old power station chimney, a 150 m structure in Malta will be demolished in the coming months.

Mizzi was appointed Minister for Tourism on 8 June 2017 following the 2017 General Election. Apart from Tourism entities and Air Malta, Public Private Partnerships and external transport were included in his portfolio.

On 12 July 2017, Mizzi appointed a new board of directors, with Dr Charles Mangion being the new chairman. Mizzi claimed that he would be working hand in hand with the new board of directors on the next phase of the Air Malta transformation."

Mizzi has claimed that Air Malta can be a niche carrier based in Malta to help passengers connect between Europe and North Africa. On 10 September 2017, Ryanair announced its intentions of collaborating with Air Malta to start selling Air Malta flights on its online platform, and to collaborate on flight connections.

Shanghai Electric is expected to be investing in the conversion to gas of an existing power plant which at present is powered by heavy fuel oil, valued at around €70million. In 2016, and following the investment by Shanghai Electric and the restructuring process that followed, Standard and Poor's upgraded Enemalta's rating to BB- with a stable outlook. Enemalta and Shanghai Electric established a joint venture to tap into renewable energy markets in Europe. They are jointly responsible for the development of the Mozura Wind Park project in Montenegro.

Mizzi was named in the Panama Papers in April 2016. It was revealed that Mizzi had acquired a Panamanian company called Hearnville Incorporated. Its shareholder, Orion Trust Limited, was established in New Zealand through a Maltese financial services company. The trust was purchased for Mizzi through law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Mizzi had publicly disclosed his structure in his declaration of assets. Mizzi said that the fund was solely intended to protect his family's assets, which include property in Malta and in London. Mizzi laid out the details of the trust and the company to the Maltese Parliament in February 2016. Mizzi had declared in March 2016 that Hearnville Inc was a shell company which held no assets. Mizzi requested that the Commissioner for Revenue and an international tax audit firm to carry out a tax audit on his assets. Since the audit is complete, he closed down Hearnville Incorporated. Mizzi insisted that the financial structure he set up was not illegal and he did not attempt to hide it from the public.

Mizzi also worked on several other initiatives, which include out of stock medicines, the emergency department and waiting lists. In 2015, there were no out of stock medicines registered in Malta under the Pharmacy of Your Choice scheme

In December 2014 Shanghai Electric signed an agreement with the Government of Malta where it acquired a minority stake in the local energy producer Enemalta. The acquisition was valued at €250 million. The restructuring envisaged new investment in the local distribution system, as well as transition from oil-fired energy generation to cleaner technology, such as the Malta-Sicily interconnector, gas-fired plants and renewable energy sources. This is expected to increase the grid redundancy and flexibility. The Government of Malta retained the majority of share of the energy company.

On assuming the health portfolio in 2014, Mizzi embarked a transformation of the health sector by attracting a private investment worth €200million to a public-private partnership initiative. This investment will develop a new world-class hospital on the island of Gozo while existing facilities are being redeveloped. Other facilities will also be redeveloped. The former St. Luke's Hospital will be converted into a new rehabilitation hospital with all the necessary facilities, which are currently do not exist at all in Malta.

Mizzi was elected in the Maltese Parliament from the Fourth District (Paola, Gudja, Ghaxaq, Tarxien, Santa Lucija and parts of Marsa and Fgura) in March 2013. He was re-elected in the 2017 election from the same district.

Mizzi was appointed by the President, on advice of the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, as Minister for Energy and the Conservation of Water on 13 March 2013 following the 2013 general elections. On 1 April 2014, Mizzi was given the responsibility for the Health and Energy portfolio. On 28 April 2016, his position was changed to Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister. This gave him the responsibility to carry out high-profile projects.

Demolishing the 1992 power plant, would be impossible to achieve without a new power plant due to N-1 requirements. Over 700,000 tonnes CO2 were reduced by shutting down the Marsa power plant. Statistics from the Eurostat confirmed that Malta experienced the highest reduction in emissions in all the European Union.

Konrad Mizzi (born 4 November 1977) is a Maltese politician, Member of Parliament for the Labour party. He served as Minister for Energy and the Conservation of Water between 2013 and 2014, Minister for Energy and Health from 2014 until 2016, and as a Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister in April 2016.

The third pillar of the energy plan will also result in the closure of the Marsa power plant which has been operating since 1969. The Marsa power plant has been shut down, on cold standby, pending the completion of the new gas fired power plant. The local Opposition party criticised the Government of Malta that this plant has been shut down due to measures implemented by the previous Government and not due to the current Government’s plans. However, the current Government’s plan envisages the demolition of the 1992 Delimara Phase 1 Heavy Fuel Oil power plant.