MEPA still in discussions with MIDI on Manoel Island

MEPA has recently approved the restoration of the Lazzaretto - which will also include a casino and 54 residential apartments - but is still considering an application for the development of a Mediterranean village.

An outline permit covering both Manoel Island and Tigne was already issued in 1999 but a full development permit still has to be issued for the so-called 'Mediterranean village'.

The MIDI application foresees the construction of 375 new residential units in the proposed 'Mediterranean Marina Village' set on 15,450 square metres of land.

According to MIDI, Manoel Island is envisaged as "a quiet, low lying, residential and recreational environment that is characterised by space".

The highest development - rising to a maximum five storeys - is expected to take place on the right-hand side of the Manoel Island bridge, opposite the ducks' village.

In the rest of the marina village facing Lazzaretto, the buildings are projected to be three to four storeys high.

Alternattiva Demokratika and Din l-Art Helwa have recently called on the government to halt residential development in Manoel Island.

While lauding the restoration work on Fort Manoel, DLH President Simone Mizzi expressed concerns that "the developing hand that saved it might now bury it with the proposal to build some 470 apartments and a medley of residential and commercial spaces".

AD has also singled out the proposed development and proposed to turn Manoel Island in to an eco-island.

Reacting to claims by AD that Manoel Island was being turned into a "monstrous building site for purely speculative purposes", MIDI chief executive Ben Muscat insisted that less than 30% of the island will be developed and that the only derelict areas will be built up.

The MIDI plc chief also revealed that all the green area that surrounds the fort will be retained, embellished and opened as a public park.

Government's offer

Back in 2010, it was the government itself which had asked MIDI to reduce the scale of development proposed at Manoel Island, in return for concessions in other areas.

In a prospectus issued to shareholders in November 2010, MIDI had revealed that it had received proposals from the government to decrease the volume of the proposed development in Manoel Island in return for compensation "in other areas".

According to the prospectus, MIDI has accepted to enter into negotiations on this proposal, "on the basis that a solution can be identified that is not detrimental to the interests of either party".

When asked for details on the negotiations with MIDI in 2010, a spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister confirmed that during a meeting with MIDI, "the idea was raised as to whether MIDI could be prepared to affect a development on Manoel Island, which is less intense than that contemplated in the Outline Development Zone, that had been issued on the 18 October 1999".

The government's spokesperson did not reveal how the government proposed compensating the company. No conclusion has been reached on this issue by November 2010. Asked whether there have been any developments, a spokesperson for de Marco simply confirmed that discussions between MEPA and MIDI were ongoing.

According to the prospectus, the alternative solutions discussed with the government would require changes to the Outline Development Permit and to the Emphyteutical Deed. Changes to the Emphyteutical Deed, once agreed to by the Company and by government, will require parliamentary approval.