The company that manufactures the red plastic traffic bollards used by Infrastructure Malta has registered profits of €300 billion.
The bollards have become a ubiquitous feature of Maltese roads in recent years, with a picturesque little square in Mosta the latest place to have them installed. This is the fifth straight year that the company, Bollards Bollards Bollards (3B) has posted such a profit. By comparison, Amazon made a profit of $208 billion in the same period.
Speaking to Bis-Serjetà from his villa in Monte Carlo, the CEO of 3B, Jeffrey Spiteri, said the company had come a long since its inception in 2016.
“Back then, I was just a humble canvasser for [former transport minister] Ian Borg. One day, after a particularly heavy drinking session at the Dingli każin, I got home and accidentally ordered a box of bollards for €100. The next day, I asked Ian if the government would buy them off me. He asked how much, I said €10,000, he accepted, and the rest is history,” Spiteri said.
Spiteri has upped his prices since then. Nowadays, each individual bollard costs the government €50 million, with a further installation fee of €2 million.
Ultimately, the decision of where to place the bollards rests with government architects, one of whom just so happens to be Spiteri’s son, Adrian.
“I don’t see it as a conflict of interest. Before we started installing my dad’s bollards, people used to swerve into the wrong lane all the time. Don’t you remember the hundreds of horrific car crashes that used to happen every say?” the younger Spiteri said.
The architect accused the people who said the bollards were ugly of never being content with anything.
“If you put bollards they complain, but then if you put massive grey concrete blocks instead, they also complain. Everyone knows these are the only two options when it comes to traffic management.”
In a similar vein, Mosta mayor Christopher Grech said he was fed up with residents’ “constant bitching”, adding that he would start using his faeces as road markers.
Meanwhile, Spiteri said he was excited about his next project.
“You know how Mdina’s narrow streets get really congested with tourists in summer? If only there was a way to control the flow of people. Oh wait, I know how. Bollards!” he said.
