Government Files Judicial Protest Against MIDI And Warns Contract Has Been Breached
The Maltese government has filed a judicial protest against MIDI, warning it has failed to abide by its contractual obligation to develop Manoel Island by a certain date.
They said that this is the first step towards achieving Prime Minister Robert Abela’s recent pledge to take over Manoel Island.
In the judicial protest, the government noted that the 99-year concession which was awarded to MIDI in 2000 for the development of Tigne and Manoel Island obliged MIDI to substantially complete the project by March 2023.
“The fact that you failed to abide by this contractual obligation means that penalties have kicked in that you are obliged to pay, with the relative interest,” the judicial protest notes.
The protest also referred to a proviso within the provision which states that if the delays persist for three years after March 2023, the government will be empowered to scrap the entire concession.
“We advise you in advance that we are ready to exercise all our contractual rights and go for the rescinding of the contract,” the judicial protest said.
“It is clear that you aren’t in a position to fulfil the contractual obligations by [March 2026] and we do not intend to extend that date.”
They also warned that MIDI breached other clauses of the concession.