Unfinished Mrieħel bridge can draw €23,000 a month in adverts

The Mrieħel bypass footbridge, which is still incomplete, can rake in just under €23,000 a month in advertising, according to rates quoted by the private operators. The government has warned Steel Structures Company Ltd to finish the project or face the consequences. Lifts, which according to the yet unpublished contract between Transport Malta and the company, had to be in place by February last year are still missing. Transport Minister Ian Borg had assured Parliament the lifts would be in use by the agreed date but he was forced to make a public apology when this did not happen. Times of Malta was informed that advertising on the footbridge, built on a public-private partnership basis, is handled by Aiken Services Ltd, which was formed a month after Labour was swept to power in 2013. It provided the party with billboards during the last two electoral campaigns. A sales representative of Aiken Services said an advert on the footbridge would cost €3,800 a month, including printing and installations costs. READ: Constructors to recoup footbridge costs through advertising revenue “The Mrieħel bridge has the potential of six adverts, which automatically turn in a turnstile motion...