Prime Minister Robert Abela told journalists that buying out the Manoel Island concession is the only solution that he excludes.

 "This is the only 'solution' that I will exclude: that the government compensates hundreds of millions of euros to speculators," the Prime Minister said on Tuesday.

These comments were made after a parliamentary petition calling for Manoel Island to return to public ownership and be converted into a public park garnered over 29,000 signatures.

On Sunday, Abela had said that he will listen to both sides when it comes to the Manoel Island project, but had already said that the concession cannot be thrown out. He had said that he thinks there is room for discussion to balance and find reasonable compromises for everyone.

Abela, on Tuesday speaking to journalists, said that the developers "took enough from this concession" and that he is not going to be the person to provide them with a solution that they may be hoping pans out, i.e., "that the entire project is taken off their hands with the cost being paid for by Maltese and Gozitan taxes."

"If we had to buy them out, this means that Maltese and Gozitans would carry this burden," he said.

The Prime Minister said that no discussion has yet been held with the concessionaires.

Abela lambasted the PN administration which, under former Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami, had signed over this concession. Abela said that this contract "betrays" the interest of Maltese and Gozitan people, in favour of protecting the developers at the time.

He reiterated that buying out the concession would cost hundreds of millions of euros based on calculating the rate for land per square metre for that zone in Gżira, multiplying that by 95,000 (since the project relates to 95,000 sqm. of land), and finally considering that approximately 80% of the site is public open space.

In this regard, the incumbent Prime Minister criticised some Opposition MPs who have come out acting "scandalized." Calling out MPs such as Beppe Fenech Adami and Mario de Marco, Abela named these two and questioned their reaction saying that their respective fathers formed part of the very administration that signed this concession over.

Describing the concession contract, Abela said that "instead of putting the people's interests first, it's totally the other way around."

"If you see what the people are getting out of this concession, it's laughable," the Prime Minister said.

The Maltese PM promised to handle this situation with care, and to put the interests of Gozitans and Maltese first. As such, he added that his main priority also consists of not following past PN administrations' footsteps of prioritising the interests of the project's speculators.

He said that the government, including through his own personal efforts, is analysing the contract at hand - from a legal and policy-oriented perspective - to see if there has been a breach in the concession. Abela said that if a breach in the contract is found, he does not exclude taking action, and that several paths may be heeded once stakeholders meet for discussions.

The Prime Minister said that with the nature of the contract, "there are certain terms that are difficult to unhook from unless a breach is found," and that this is what the ongoing contract analysis is focusing on. The government will react accordingly once this step is finalized.

He said that all conditions within the concession are carefully being analysed, though Clauses 8 and 20 are being particularly eyed, especially clause 8, he said, since this relates to contractual obligations.

Despite the next step being uncertain, Abela stated that for this case, it is vital that stakeholders do not take action in any impulsive manner that may cause even more damage to the 29,000+ signatories and the rest of the population.

Abela continued that the question now is to see how to best protect the citizens' interests, and to what extent this is possible, "within the limitations placed onto them" by the past Nationalist administration members who "protected the developers at the time."

On this latter point, the Prime Minister observed that if anyone wants evidence that these developers have been protected, all they must do is realise that 25 years have passed since the concession was signed, and yet construction still has not commenced.

The Prime Minister also mentioned that he will be meeting with the organisers of the parliamentary petition this Friday.

Abela concluded that he is determined that he and the government will manage to find a solution to the Manoel Island issue, as he has offered solutions to past challenges.