Manoel Island Got A Rethink, White Rocks Deserves One Too
The government’s recent move to reclaim Manoel Island from MIDI has dominated public discussion. But while attention has rightly focused on what becomes of that site, it’s worth shifting our gaze slightly north – to another stretch of public coastline that has been quietly left to rot. White Rocks hasn’t featured as much in the national debate for years. No NGO campaigns. No government statements. No smiling ministers unveiling glossy renders. But perhaps, after two decades of delay and decay, it’s time we asked the question again: what do we want White Rocks to become?
The comparison to Manoel Island is not perfect, but it is useful. Both are sites with historic or scenic value that have remained frozen in time, waiting for someone to decide their fate. While Manoel Island was formally leased out to MIDI in a 99-year concession, White Rocks has remained in public hands. And yet, in practice, both have, for much of the last twenty years, sat in a kind of managed limbo, earmarked for development but never truly moved on.
Originally used by the British military and then repurposed by the government for tourism, the White Rocks site was abandoned in 1995 and has since become a symbol of unfulfilled promises. The first major redevelopment proposal surfaced in 1999, and by 2001 the government had selected Costa San Andrea to carry out a €58 million project that was supposed to be completed by 2003. Planning permits were granted, deadlines were extended, but the deal ultimately collapsed in 2004 amid disagreements over land rights.
In 2010, a new proposal emerged: a €200 million “sports village” led by a UK consortium. A highly publicised press conference featured ministers promising a landmark investment that would create 800 jobs and revive the site. One of those ministers, then Economy Minister Chris Cardona, even stated in 2014 that he was “staking his political credibility” on seeing the White Rocks project through. But by 2011, negotiations had already stalled, and by 2017 a third consortium, this time including major Maltese and British investors, was proposing a €400 million mixed-use development including a seven-star hotel and a public heritage park. Yet again, talks collapsed. This time it was reportedly over land valuations, with the government asking for €120 million and the consortium offering closer to €25 million.
We are now almost thirty years into that ‘nothing’. And unlike in 2000, Malta today is awash with high-end apartments, sports facilities, hotels and commercial spaces. The idea that White Rocks must become yet another extension of that model, simply to justify its existence, feels outdated. At a time when the country is debating the cost of overdevelopment, and when civil society is finding its voice again, the question must be asked plainly: what is the opportunity cost of waiting another 20 years?
Photo Credit: Tvm news
In truth, the site’s economic viability may already be compromised. It sits between a landfill and an illegal settlement that has steadily expanded over the years, with very little public outcry or sustained protest from NGOs. With planning restrictions and heritage considerations attached, the land is not as straightforward a proposition as glossy concept art might suggest. And yet, it continues to be floated in whispers and press statements. Only recently, White Rocks was once again teased as a possible location for a large-scale conference or multifunction venue—a potential solution to the strain Malta faces whenever events like SiGMA take place. But if, as has been reported, the price government is placing on it is too high for any serious investor to consider, then it is effectively off the market. And if that’s the case, then we must ask in whose interest it is for the site to remain exactly as it is.
It would be naïve to think the government has no plan. A site like White Rocks is too big, too politically sensitive, and too potentially lucrative to simply be forgotten. But if the plan is to do nothing until a buyer rolls in with deep pockets and little concern for public interest, then that is not a plan. It is a gamble. One that has already cost the country decades of decay.
Photo Credit: Tvm news
Nor is the idea of a public concession automatically reassuring. The public has learned, through long and painful experience, that public land given to private hands often becomes neither accessible nor beneficial to the public. And while one can accept that large-scale projects may require private involvement, it is not unreasonable to demand that the process be guided by a vision that serves the broader good.
That vision need not be limited to the familiar. Rather than default to more high-end residences or tourism complexes, the country could be bold in its imagination. White Rocks could become a spiritual or mental wellbeing retreat, the kind that caters to the rising tide of experiential tourism. Malta has never quite positioned itself as a haven for calm, but the coastline and views are there, and so is the potential. It could also be designed as a public lido and conference space with access by boat, functioning as a flexible venue that NGOs and local communities could use outside peak seasons. Or, if the government is serious about attracting foreign talent, it could become a proper innovation hub. An incubator with facilities that go beyond the buzzword and actually make it feasible for international start-ups to operate from Malta. These ideas are not mutually exclusive. The real opportunity lies in balancing civic value with economic return and doing so in a way that feels intentional rather than opportunistic.
Whether White Rocks is eventually developed by the state or through a public-private partnership matters less than whether it becomes something that serves the people. The real question isn’t who builds it, but what values guide its transformation. This is a rare stretch of public land with seafront access and historic infrastructure. A blank canvas that has sat idle for too long. It could become a space that balances economic activity with public access, somewhere that adds to the social fabric rather than fencing people out. That outcome won’t come from inertia. It will require a government willing to lead and a public willing to care.
If there’s a lesson in the last twenty years, it’s that leaving potential to rot is its own kind of decision. We don’t need grand announcements or hurried investments. But we do need clarity. Because the longer White Rocks stays in limbo, the harder it becomes to imagine anything better.
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