[WATCH] Muscat on Manoel Island: ‘I want as little development as possible’

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has sounded a word of warning to the MIDI Consortium over its plans to construct a shopping complex, casino-hotel, and luxury apartments on Manoel Island, warning that the Gzira community is angry at the plans.

Asked by MaltaToday whether the government will consider nationalizing Manoel Island, Muscat said that he will exclude nothing but that he hopes MIDI will be able to reach a compromise with the Gzira community.

“I don’t want the community to feel as though they are strangers to Manoel Island. I want a situation where there is as little development as possible on Manoel Island, and for it to be as accessible to the public as much as possible.

"I want Manoel Island to be a green lung for the area.”

He also took a dig at the Nationalist Party, arguing that a previous PN administration had sold Manoel Island to MIDI on the cheap.

“Those who were scandalized at the amount that the ITS land was sold for should look at the Manoel Island deal, because it was sold for a fraction of the amount,” he said. 

He added that he unequivocally supports Gzira mayor Conrad Borg Manche, who has lambasted MIDI’s plans as “completely unacceptable”.

Midi plc was granted a 99-year concession on the large part of Manoel Island in 2000, and held a meeting with NGOs last week where it presented its master plan for the development, with a full planning application expected to be submitted within the week.

The Manoel Island masterplan, in line with the deed, envisages that 62% of Manoel Island is to be dedicated to public open spaces, including the creation of an 80,000‐square metre park, 20% of Manoel Island is to be dedicated to heritage buildings and 18% of Manoel Island is to be dedicated to new buildings.

Until six years ago, MIDI was considering turning Fort Manoel into a 55-suite boutique hotel, and turn the former military parade ground into a concert venue. Plans also included a ‘marina village’ of low-rise residential units, projected to sell at roughly the same price as Tigné Point’s more expensive apartments.