Designated swimming zones at Manoel Island will not be the only areas open to bathers and claims to that effect are "misleading", MIDI CEO Mark Portelli has said. 

Mr Portelli said that while he recognised Gżira-based NGO Inħobbu l-Gżira’s concerns, their recent comments that swimmers would be prohibited from accessing the foreshore or from swimming outside of the zones, were, “to a large extent, a misrepresentation of the facts.”

“They are deliberately trying to eschew the agenda that MIDI is trying to prohibit swimming outside of the swimming zones. Far from it. Swimming is not restricted exclusively to the areas agreed by the Manoel Island Foundation,” he said.

His comments follow Facebook posts from Inħobbu l-Gżira, which suggested that parts of Manoel Island’s coastline would no longer be open to the public.

The group surmised that the northern shore area facing Tigné would no longer be open to swimmers and instead be used for water sports. In one of their posts on February 4, the group complained that the north shore would be “reserved for ‘water sports’.

“We also suspect this will he used as an exclusive beach club for the guests of the hotel to be built in Lazzaretto hospital and for the residents of the apartments to be sold,” the group said.

Inħobbu l-Gżira presented an annotated version of the plan presented in the Guardianship Agreemen, adding notes which they said showed swimming zones and areas they said would be prohibited to them. Credit: Manoel Island Foundation.

Mr Portelli confirmed that the original title deed provided to MIDI by the government in 2000, allowed for the developer to apply for mooring rights in the north for water sports like paddle boats and speedboats but not for yachts. He added that mooring rights were only reserved for the marina.

The three swimming zones located in the north, facing Sliema, in the East and a third in the South-East, were created through the Manoel Island Foundation and the Guardianship Deed overseeing Manoel Island’s restoration and development.

The chairperson administrator for the Manoel Island Foundation, Claire Bonello, said the Guardianship Agreement created on March 14, 2018, would enforce the public’s access to these swimming zones and govern what MIDI could and could not do.

“The Guardianship Agreement protects public access and if that is breached, the perpetrator can be taken to court,” she said.

Dr Bonello also cited the Agreement which states that MIDI cannot build structures that, “encroach on Protected Swimming Zones” or to allow third parties to carry out commercial activities on them.

Inħobbu l-Gżira also surmised that the steps area leading up to the fort would also be out of bounds to the public.

Mr Portelli batted off this claim saying that MIDI did not want to prevent swimmer access but did intend to retain the use of the stairs as an infrequent mooring point for boats coming from Sliema or Valletta, for special events.

“The fort is approached by the sea. The stairs serve a purpose and we didn’t want to take away from its historical context.

“We are committed to using it only for special events with the consent of the foundation,” he said.

The Guardianship Agreement entry on Protected Swimming Zones also insists that berthing facilities and boat passage to the fort can only be permitted for four days between July and August, with MIDI having to ask consent from the foundation for more days.

MIDI's proposed land use plan for Manoel Island. The pink section around the coastline is the foreshore. MIDI has no control over this area. Image: MIDI Plc

A representative for Inħobbu l-Gżira said they were critical of MIDI’s plans because they saw them as “further privatisation of Malta’s coastline.”

They stressed that if the plans are for water sports, boats and land reclamation, the coastline would be “lost to the public.”

MIDI was granted a 99-year concession in June 2000, by the Maltese government, in order to develop and restore Manoel Island along with the Fort. The entire project is projected to cost €400 million and include new public open-spaces and piazzas, low-rise residential, commercial and retail spaces. The Manoel Island Master Plan is currently being appealed with the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal by conservation NGO Flim-kien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA).

The master plan was originally approved by the Planning Authority in March 2019.

FAA had also managed to get the excavation works suspended for three months in September, citing the ruin of iconic views across Marsamxett Harbour to Valletta; the loss of a large section of the Gżira promenade, and the narrowing of the sea channel which would increase the risk of flooding of Triq ix-Xatt, among other things.

Mr Portelli said the company is currently proceeding with its permits to demolish buildings connected to phase one of the project, clearing top-soil, erecting concrete hoarding barriers and other ancillary services connected with the project.