Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela, has confirmed that Transport Malta will issue a public concession call for the Manoel Island Yacht Marina, framing the site as an already operational marina rather than a proposed new development.
Prime Minister Abela made the announcement on Monday, while speaking to journalists following a Planning Authority decision, to approve padel courts on Manoel Island that had been constructed without the necessary permissions. The island is designated to become a national park and the approvals had prompted questions about whether further commercial activity, could encroach on the site.
The Prime Minister drew a clear distinction between different parts of the island. He noted that a marina already exists on the side facing Gżira’s Council of Europe Garden and that the Manoel Island Yacht Marina – which faces Sliema – operates as a separate, pre-existing facility. On that basis, he said Transport Malta would in due course, announce a concession subject to a public call.
The yacht marina site is among the areas excluded from the MIDI concession arrangement that collapsed earlier this year, leaving its future status as an open question within the island’s broader redevelopment picture.
On the padel courts, Prime Minister Abela rejected the suggestion that an individual was responsible for the illegal structures, stating the property belongs to Gżira United Football Club. He maintained that the area had always been designated for sporting use and that designation would remain unchanged. When pressed on why the government had not moved to reverse the illegal development – as has occurred in other cases – Prime Minister Abela was unequivocal that such decisions rest solely with the Planning Authority.
Asked more broadly how he could guarantee no further unsanctioned commercialisation on Manoel Island, Prime Minister Abela pointed to public land ownership as the primary safeguard. With Transport Malta set to launch a formal, competitive process for the yacht yard concession, the government is pushing to place the island’s commercial elements on a more transparent footing, even as questions about enforcement and development boundaries continue to attract scrutiny.
