It’s been charming locals and tourists alike for decades, but there will be no room for the Duck Village in a luxury project that has been proposed for Manoel Island.

And while criticism of the project has so far focused mainly on human-related issues, Gżira councillor Jeremy Cardona is sparing a thought for the ducks.

“No one seems to care about the ducks and I was laughed at when I brought the issue up during meetings,” Cardona told Lovin Malta. “Where will they go? No one knows at this stage.”

“It’s really sad. I remember the local council setting up the Duck Village when I was a child, and there’s an elderly man who visits it everyday to feed the ducks.”

The young PN councillor said he would like to see the Duck Village transferred elsewhere, but admitted he cannot see much space for it once the Manoel Island project and a proposed nearby lido get developed.

“Where can you put it? Right next to residences, near the shopping mall, in swimming zones?”

Around 5,000 people have so far signed a parliamentary petition which calls on the government to turn Manoel Island into a National Heritage Park

However, such a task will undoubtedly prove incredibly difficult as the development of Manoel Island is bound by a contract which dates back to 1994.

Talks are also underway that could see the MIDI consortium share the majority of its shares in the project to the Tumas Group, with the price tag reportedly set at €100 million.

Although Cardona signed the petition, he admitted he cannot see much hope in stopping the project.

“I will try and see what to do, but I honestly don’t know what can happen,” he said when asked whether there’s a realistic way to stop the development. “People have a right to protest though, and I did my part when signing the petition because I don’t want to wash my hands off the problem.”

Featured Photos from Instagram, Left: Stephan Strange, Right: ingijensson

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]