An agreement has been reached for Manoel Island and Fort Tigne to return to government hands, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Monday night.

In a video message uploaded to social media on Monday, Abela said that he had just been informed that the board of directors of the MIDI consortium had accepted an offer which will see both Manoel Island and Fort Tigne in Sliema removed from a concession and returned to the State.

The government plans to turn Manoel Island into Malta’s largest national park. Negotiations for the 30-hectare or so area had kicked off after a prolonged campaign by environmental activists culminated in a parliamentary petition which was signed by thousands to save the area from the planned sprawling development.

The island, which features several historical buildings including Fort Manoel and the Lazaretto, was part of a 99-year concession signed between a Nationalist government and the MIDI consortium back in 2000 that also resulted into the development of Tigne Point.

In his video message, Abela said that the road to this point had not been easy, but the government had gotten there as promised.

Abela said that the government had made it clear that it would not pay for the value of the land at Manoel Island – something the consortium had accepted.  The government, he added, will only be paying for just over half of the “verified and justified” funds that MIDI had spent on Manoel Island.

“This is being done in the interest of the people so that these beautiful places in premium zones of the country can be transformed into national parks for families to enjoy,” Abela said.

He noted that when the possibility that Fort Tigne – which is also part of the 2000 concession – may have been developed, the government immediately opened talks with the consortium so a solution could be found there too.

Late in 2025 it emerged that Fort Tigne was to be sold to Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli for €2.5 million, with the tycoon planning to convert the Knights of St John era fort into a hotel.  The government stepped in almost immediately after that news emerged.

Abela said that these locations will join other planned green open spaces at White Rocks in Bahar ic-Caghaq, Fort Campbell in Mellieha, and Fort San Salvatore in Cottonera, adding that consultation through the ‘Shape Your Space’ campaign had already begun.

“We have consulted with children, engineers, and families so that all these places can be transformed for your enjoyment,” Abela said.

He thanked everyone involved in the negotiations to get to this point and the thousands of people who had campaigned for this to happen, saying that the country’s economy had made it possible for such green investment to be made.

“We now only have the final steps left before Manoel Island and Fort Tigne formally return to your families,” Abela said.

“A strong economy can change dreams into reality.  This is a beautiful occasion for a people united behind one interest: family, who will now have more place to spend the best time with those most dear to them.  You deserve it,” Abela concluded.