Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1534549
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 APRIL 2025 4 INTERVIEW Robert Louis Fenech: 'We have a unique chance to get Manoel Island back' MANOEL Island in the middle of Marsamxett Harbour is etched in the memories of many as a place for ad- venture, swimming, playing football and walking. Since the year 2000, the island has been the property of the MIDI consortium as part of a concession agreement reached back then to de- velop luxury apartments at Tigné Point and Manoel Island. But now, Moviment Graffitti and several organisations are petition- ing the government to take back the island and turn it into a public park. When I sit down with Rob- ert Louis Fenech, one of the people behind the campaign, he positively surprises me with his conciliatory demeanour. "We do not want the government to aggressively cancel the contract and take back the island; there are talks underway on an extension to the deadline for completion of the project and we believe the govern- ment has room to manoeuvre and reach a negotiated settlement by which the island can be returned to the public as a park," he tells me. The deadline Fenech speaks of is March 2026, which was already ex- tended by three years in 2023. MIDI has argued that the deadline can be extended according to the contract because of delays in the issuance of permits and archaeological excava- tions. But Fenech insists the extension of the deadline is not automatic so much so that the company and the government have been holding talks. He says that the Malta in the year 2000, when the government felt the need for modern, luxury projects to take off, is not the Malta of today. Fenech argues that today, Malta is materially more prosperous and unlike 25 years ago, there are many luxury places. The country does not need a de- velopment at Manoel Island, he says, and the congested region home to some 150,000 people and thousands more visitors would be better served with a large public open space. Moviment Graffitti activist Robert Louis Fenech speaks to KURT SANSONE as Manoel Island's future hangs in the balance, with campaigners urging the government to reclaim the site from private developers and transform it into a public park.