Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544021
mt SURVEY 11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 MARCH 2026 ANALYSIS rewrote Malta's development playbook terplan approved in 2019 was revoked a year later by the Environment and Plan- ning Review Tribunal due to the conflict of interest of architect Edward Said, who conducted the EIA's heritage study and is also the son of a MIDI director. A new masterplan further downscaling the floor space of new buildings to 55,000sq.m from the 87,000sq.m in the revoked permit was approved in 2021, with the number of apartments now set at 300. The reduction was triggered by extensive archaeological discoveries consisting of cemeteries. The masterplan was followed by a full development application which envisaged 323 apartments with new buildings over a floorspace of 65,000sq.m and a footprint of 29,500sq.m, or 10% of the island's total land area. MIDI justified the increase in residential floor space by saying that this was offset by a reduction in commercial and office space and was the result of a better layout. Building heights remained capped at four to five floors. The permit was recommended for approval by the case officer, but a final decision was never taken pending a her- itage impact assessment by the Superin- tendence of Cultural Heritage. 2025: 29,000-strong petition leads to government change of heart This year marked the tipping point for Manoel Island as activists pushed a 29,041-strong petition—around 5% of Malta's population—calling for a nation- al park. The Manoel Island: Post Għalina campaign proposed a compromise: Pub- lic access to a park without penalising the developer. Initially met with scepticism, the petition nonetheless triggered a po- litical shift. Activists leveraged the contractual deadline for "substantial completion" by March 2026. On 11 May, Prime Minister Robert Abela expressed caution, noting that re- claiming the island would cost the state "hundreds of millions" and questioned whether it would be responsible spend- ing. On 1 June, he described withdrawing the agreement as a "momentary populist act" while emphasising that 60% of the project already involved public green space and 20% heritage restoration cost- ing €150 million. Facing internal party pressure, includ- ing from PL President Alex Sciberras and backbench MP Edward Zammit Lewis, Abela requested a legal review on 3 June. He hinted at possible action against MI- DI, while ruling out excessive compen- sation. He pledged to "meet and listen to everyone," framing the petitioners' fight as his own. The Opposition, led by Bernard Grech, was more cautious, calling a national park a "beautiful dream" but insisting obligations be respected and ascertained. It was a view echoed by Alex Borg before becoming PN leader, who when door- stepped in front of parliament stressed balancing residents' concerns with con- tractual duties. After Abela signalled in- tent to challenge the original deed, Grech shifted to a more forceful tone, calling on the government to try and secure a park while ensuring contract terms were up- held. By September, Abela formally commit- ted to establishing a national park. In this case Abela's handling was initial- ly hesitant and overtly legalistic, but he ultimately demonstrated a willingness to listen and engage with activists, respond- ing to public concerns on environmen- tal issues. Politically it helped him offset criticism over the proposed planning bills, which for now have been put on the backburner, and allowed him to gain po- litical mileage from public consultation on the park ahead of elections. March 2026: The final deal In March 2026, the government and MIDI plc reached a landmark settlement to end the 99-year concession over Ma- noel Island and Fort Tigné. Under the agreement, MIDI will return Manoel Island and Fort Tigné to public owner- ship. The government will pay a hefty cash payment of €43 million in compen- sation, covering verified restoration and infrastructural costs, which is significant- ly lower than the €78 million requested by MIDI. The deal comes on the eve of a crucial deadline for MIDI, which faces a €50 million bond repayment in July 2026. The activists themselves welcomed the agreement, describing it as a "swift and diplomatic settlement, which avoids un- necessary delays." In this way the government avoided the prospect of protracted legal litigation, possibly dragging on for several years and having an uncertain outcome. But the deal still awaits parliamentary approval and the Opposition is pushing for the au- ditor general to provide an independent valuation to verify the amounts due while supporting "the principle of returning the sites to public use". Still, at the end of the day, what started as a "beautiful dream" constrained by legal obligations, as de- scribed by Bernard Grech, which could have come at a cost of "hundreds of mil- lions", as Robert Abela initially warned, has resulted in a settlement that seems acceptable to all parties involved. Manoel Island now exemplifies how sustained civic pressure, political respon- siveness, and adaptive governance can resolve complex urban conflicts, even when large-scale development agree- ments initially favoured private profit over public good.