MIDI shareholders approve Manoel Island’s transfer back to government

Shareholders of MIDI plc have approved an agreement with the government to hand back Manoel Island for its conversion into a public national park.

The decision was taken during an extraordinary general meeting held on Tuesday afternoon, where shareholders were presented with the full details of the agreement reached in recent days. The proposal was subsequently endorsed, as widely anticipated.

The move follows years of public debate and mounting pressure from civil society groups calling for greater public access to Manoel Island, a historic site at the heart of Marsamxett Harbour. Originally earmarked for mixed-use development under a concession granted decades ago, the island has increasingly been seen as a potential green lung in a densely built urban area.

Under the newly approved agreement, both Manoel Island and Fort Tigné are expected to be returned to the public domain and transformed into national parks, prioritising open spaces, heritage conservation and public enjoyment.

This comes after a grassroots petition by activists in 2024 which collected over 29,000 signatures. The activists called for the island to be turned into a natural heritage park. Campaigners worked with residents, NGOs and experts to reimagine what the park could look like.

In March 2026, the government and MIDI plc reached a landmark settlement to end the 99-year concession over Manoel Island and Fort Tigné. 

MIDI plc was given a lease to develop Tigne Point and Manoel Island in 2000. The company developed Tigne Point but only carried out extensive restoration works on Manoel Island. Over the past few years, MIDI was in the process of developing luxury residential units and commercial establishments on part of Manoel Island but the development did not materialise.