“The master plan for Manoel Island fully respects the public’s need for open space and the right to enjoy the regeneration of a disused site that has lain fallow for decades,” MIDI CEO Ben Muscat said recently in reply to allegations levelled against the development company by Alternattiva Demokratika.
“AD claims that Manoel Island is being turned into a monstrous building site for purely speculative purposes. This cannot be further from the truth.
“There is nothing speculative about a multi-million, decade-long project aimed at revitalizing Manoel Island and all its historic sites. Whether it suits AD’s political campaigning or not, the fact remains that less than 30 per cent of the island is being redeveloped – and this on a brown-field basis, which means that the only areas being built are those that have already been disturbed and which have lain derelict or used as unofficial dumping sites for decades.”
As for the ‘lung’ surrounding the restored Fort Manoel, MIDI reiterated that, contrary to what had recently been stated, all the green area that surrounds the fort would be retained, embellished and opened as a public park. The rest of the island, MIDI said, will include a low-lying Mediterranean style marina village with quality open spaces, landscaped walkways and gardens, cycle trails, water features and public promenades, piazzas, cafes and restaurants.
The company emphasises that the master plan also includes a host of leisure and sports facilities including the rebuilding and upgrading of the Gzira United football ground and the bocci pitch, marina-related facilities and a shoreline walkway leading up to the Lazaretto buildings which, after an age of dilapidation, will be fully restored and reused as a combination of residential, hospitality, leisure and cultural spaces.
This, and the restoration of numerous other historic structures like Fort Manoel, the Customs house, the admiral’s canteen, the bovine quarters and the old chapel form part of the largest restoration programme ever undertaken in Malta – an exercise that is expected to cost millions of euros, the company said in a statement.
“Describing MIDI’s Manoel Island venture as lacking an ecological and social dimension is also completely unfair and unjust when we are investing so heavily to ensure that the project will have long-term sustainability and significant green credentials,” Mr Muscat added.
“What AD probably does not know is that MIDI will be investing considerably in alternative clean energy, energy efficient home management systems, rain water collection, the re-use of second class water and the planting of a large number of indigenous trees and shrubs.
“We will be making Manoel Island accessible and appealing once again by transforming a long suffering, derelict and vandalised location into one we can all be proud of,” concluded Mr Muscat.