MIDI says it will receive €43 million as Manoel Island and Fort Tigné return to State

MIDI plc said Tuesday it is set to receive €47.321 million in reimbursement as part of an in-principle agreement with the government for the partial rescission of its long-standing emphyteutical concession over Manoel Island and Fort Tigné. In a company announcement issued on the Stock Exchange on Tuesday, MIDI said that after adjusting for the reimbursement of VAT arising from the transaction, the deal is expected to yield a net reimbursement of around €43 million. The agreement, reached following negotiations with the government, provides for the emphyteutical concession over Manoel Island and Fort Tigné to be rescinded, while the concession over Tigné Point, excluding Fort Tigné, will remain fully in force. MIDI said the agreement remains subject to a number of conditions, including the finalisation of the terms under which the rescission will take place, as well as approval by the company's shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting. That meeting, the company said, will only be convened once the terms of the deed of partial rescission have been agreed between MIDI and the government, and after the deed is approved by the House of Representatives. A further company announcement will be issued once the terms of the deed of partial rescission are finalised, MIDI added. The company also said that full details of the transaction, its financial impact, and the reasons why the board accepted the proposal and will recommend it to shareholders, will be set out in a circular to shareholders in line with Capital Market Rules. The company's announcement follows Prime Minister Robert Abela's declaration on Monday night that an agreement had been reached for Manoel Island and Fort Tigné to return to government hands. In a video message posted on social media, Abela said he had been informed that the board of directors of the MIDI consortium had accepted a government offer which would see both sites removed from the concession and returned to the State. The Prime Minister said the government intends to transform Manoel Island into what he described as Malta's largest national park, following years of campaigning by environmental activists and a parliamentary petition signed by thousands calling for the site to be saved from extensive development. Abela said the government had made it clear during negotiations that it would not pay for the value of the land at Manoel Island, and that MIDI had accepted this position. Instead, he said, government would only pay for "just over half" of the "verified and justified" expenditure the consortium had incurred on the island. He also said that once concerns emerged late last year that Fort Tigné could be developed - after reports that it was to be sold to Gozitan developer Joseph Portelli for €2.5 million with plans for a hotel conversion - the government moved quickly to open discussions with the consortium. The Manoel Island concession dates back to a 99-year agreement signed in 2000 under a Nationalist administration, which also led to the development of Tigné Point. Abela described the agreement as a significant step towards creating more public green open spaces, saying Manoel Island and Fort Tigné would join other planned projects at White Rocks, Fort Campbell and Fort San Salvatore. "We now only have the final steps left before Manoel Island and Fort Tigné formally return to your families," Abela said.
2026-03-17 07:52:00