Malta receives casino proposal

The casino complex that would be located in Manoel Island received negative feedback from several officials in Malta.

Malta.- A development consortium from Malta called Midi proposed a casino hotel and shopping complex for Manoel Island. The consortium obtained 17 years ago a 99-year concession on the biggest part of the island.

According to Times of Malta, Midi had a meeting with NGOs earlier this week where the proposal was introduced, along with the master plan for the development. Whilst official plans haven’t been made public yet, the news outlet reported that the island would host a hotel casino nearby Lazaretto, and retail outlets with luxury apartments would also be located near the public space of Manoel. Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manché claimed that the plans are completely unacceptable: “For the average citizen who is not shopping or gambling away money, there is very little being offered. The sea will be a mass of vessels so people cannot swim in the wake of the yachts of the rich. This is yet another community which caters for the elite and shuts out the citizen.”

Environment officer Tara Cassar said that the island would be turned into a large shopping complex, with apartments for the well-to-do and nothing to draw the people of Gżira to use it. The agreement establishes that they have to complete a development by March 2023 or the consortium would be fined daily for three years until the contract gets cancelled.

A Midi spokesperson said: “The company is fully committed to the restoration and rehabilitation of the heritage buildings on Manoel Island and the extensive provision of space for leisure and heritage walks and events. The foreshore will be fully accessible to the public and swimmers.” The extension of the contract will also be looked into by the Maltese government after AD chairman Arnold Cassola demanded a full investigation. “If any of the conditions of the contract have been breached, Manoel Island is to be returned to the Maltese government and is to be turned into a national park,” he said.