The search for investors to back a large development on Manoel Island will begin before the year is through, the Manoel Island Development Consortium said on Saturday.
In a company announcement to the Malta Stock Exchange, Midi said it planned to embark on a search for investors “by the end of the current year”.
The consortium was granted a concession on Manoel Island to build a large development, including high-end residential blocks, back in 2000 and today estimates that the project will cost as much as €500 million.
Around 2010, the company was considering turning Fort Manoel into a 55-suite boutique hotel, and developing a large concert venue on the former military parade ground. Other plans had also included a marina village of low-rise residential units.
In the announcement, Company Secretary Darren Azzopardi said the consortium was currently completing a masterplan with UK architecture firm Foster & Partners. After this a business plan would be prepared before selecting final investors.
Back in May company chief executive Luke Coppini had told this newspaper that eventual investors could insist on a majority shareholding.
The company had not placed a price tag on Manoel Island
Under the terms of the parliamentary concession, Midi requires approval if the new partner takes more than 40 per cent of the shares.
The Manoel Island concession was thrust back into the spotlight earlier this month, after activists forced their way through the gates to gain access to the foreshore.
The members of Kamp Emerġenza Ambjent, who have the support of a number of environmental organisations, were also joined by the Gżira mayor Conrad Borg Manché who has since initiated talks with Midi in a bid to allow public access to parts of the island.
Midi has been accused of “abandoning” the island for 16 years, allowing rubbish to accumulate and historic buildings to fall into disrepair. The company subsequently responded by claiming activists carried out acts of vandalism at Fort Manoel when they gained access, claims which have been strongly denied.
In the company announcement, Midi also insisted it was not the source of information behind recent media reports that the consortium would consider selling its concession for some €145 million.
“The company was not the source of the information contained in the article and reconfirms that it had not placed a ‘price tag on Manoel Island’,” the statement read.
Media reports had suggested that a Maltese consortium had made a €110 million offer for the concession, as well as an additional €23 million that Midi had yet to pay the Maltese government. The offer, however, was turned down when Midi informed the interested buyer the asking price had been altered, the media reports claimed.