Guest Post: The Missing Cars On Manoel Island
The MIDI consortium, entrusted with the redevelopment of Manoel Island, has presented the project as a model of sustainability and sensitivity to our heritage.
Among the many promotional materials shared so far are highly polished photo montages that show a transformed Manoel Island as clean, green, and pedestrian-friendly. However, what is noticeably absent in all these images is any trace of traffic.
Yet the project includes 323 residential units spread across what is described as low-rise, four to five-storey blocks.
Malta has one of the highest rates of car ownership in Europe, averaging around 1.7 cars per household.
Based on this average, these homes alone would account for approximately 550 privately owned vehicles permanently based on the island. Parking, we are told, will be provided. But where exactly, and how will these vehicles move on and off the island daily?
In addition to housing, the project includes a clubhouse, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, and padel courts. These facilities will draw daily visitors, staff, service providers, and delivery vehicles. Even conservatively, these amenities could generate an additional 200 vehicles per day on the island.
Then there is the marina and yacht yard, where around 50 people are employed all year-round, and hundreds of boat owners and visitors pass through regularly. In peak summer, with an estimated 200 boats berthed at the marina, it is reasonable to expect at least 200 car trips associated with that activity. The planned expansion of the marina will only increase that number.
We must also factor in local visitors and tourism. Fort Manoel and the surrounding waterfront are expected to become major visitor attractions, which will include a centre for culture and arts, galleries, museums, shops, and restaurants.
At the same time, the Lazzaretto will be used for hospitality. During open days and summer months, expecting 5,000 visitors in a single day is not unrealistic, even more so if we are to welcome 4.5 million tourists a year by 2035.
Even if only a portion of them arrive by tour bus, the number of large vehicles entering and exiting the island could exceed 100 buses per day.
Altogether, Manoel Island could be receiving well over 1,000 vehicles daily, translating into between 2,500 and 3,000 vehicle trips across the bridge that connects it to Gżira.
At peak times, this could mean up to 10 vehicle crossings per minute, nearly 1 car every 5 seconds, essentially continuous traffic flow.
This surge in traffic will have a direct impact not only on Gżira but on all the surrounding towns that already struggle with congestion and limited road infrastructure.
Experts warn that without proper planning, dense development in small areas leads to chaos, as seen around Tigné Point.
Malta’s parking policy worsens the issue by requiring only minimum spaces, allowing developers to build more and attract additional cars. To ensure much of Manoel Island is pedestrian, traffic circulation and parking must be capped or restricted.
Another pressing concern is MIDI’s track record and its commitments to public access and the long-term completion of the Manoel Island project. Up until 2016, MIDI had blocked public access to the island, preventing people from swimming or enjoying the shoreline. It was only after sustained civil protests that the company was forced to open up the area and restore access to the public.
Even worse, there is also no guarantee that the current project plans will remain unchanged. The original 1999 master plan of MIDI’s development for Tigné Point did not include a 17-storey residential tower, yet the company later applied for and received approval to build it.
The outcome is a much denser and more commercialised development, where the historical elements of the site have been overshadowed, and traffic keeps increasing.
Although MIDI has held the concession for over two decades, the project deadline expired in March 2023. Since then, MIDI should have been paying a daily fine to secure a three-year extension until March 2026 to complete 85% of the works.
With the project far from finished and contracts ignored, Graffitti and FAA are urging the government to reclaim the land and turn Manoel Island into a public green space. Momentum supports this call, while unfortunately, both PL and PN remain firm in granting MIDI an extension, placing the company’s interests above the public’s.
The government has successfully restored major heritage sites like the Valletta bastions, Valletta Waterfront, Fort St Angelo, Cottonera Lines, Mdina, and the Citadel in Gozo, using a mix of national, private, and EU funds without selling public land for residential use.
However, in the cases of Manoel Island and Fort Chambray, that same commitment is lacking. Instead, the government appears willing to hand over these unique sites to private interests for commercial gain. Even when developers breach their contracts, the government avoids penalties and sides with them, rather than acting in the public’s best interest.
Since 1999, when the concession was given, Malta’s population increased by 200,000, and the number of cars increased by 150,000. People now value public green spaces more than ever. Saving Manoel Island will benefit the entire community. This is what we need today. Why are our members of parliament still stuck in 1999?
Matthew Agius is a geophysicist and serves on the executive committee of the political party Momentum