Parliament’s National Audit Office Accounts Committee has unanimously approved a government resolution paving the way for a €42.3 million payout to MIDI plc, with the Opposition PN joining Labour in backing what financial analysts describe as a taxpayer-funded “bailout” of a private developer.
The vote followed a brief debate on a resolution tabled by Lands Minister Owen Bonnici, effectively sealing an agreement negotiated by Prime Minister Robert Abela ‘to return Manoel Island to the public’.
Under the deal, MIDI, which the government itself had argued was in breach of its 99-year concession for failing to deliver the project, will hand back the site in exchange for tens of millions of euro from public coffers.
While the government has framed the agreement as a necessary step to reclaim Manoel Island, the financial details revealed by The Shift show that taxpayers will be covering far more than restoration costs, as originally promised by Prime Minister Abela.
Figures presented in Parliament show that of the roughly €42.5 million package, only around €11 to 12 million is directly linked to restoration works on the heritage site.
A breakdown of costs to be funded by taxpayers.
The remaining amount, now approved by the PL and PN, includes a wide range of expenses accumulated by MIDI over the past 25 years, such as €15.2 million in premium and ground rent, €8 million in design and Planning Authority fees, €2.6 million in salaries, €1.5 million in professional fees, over €1 million in security services, and additional costs related to Fort Tigné, branding, and administration.
During the committee discussion, Opposition MPs limited their intervention to technical questions on how these costs were verified, without challenging the inclusion of such expenses. This effectively cleared the way for a unanimous approval.
Minister Bonnici insisted the government had ensured that MIDI would not be compensated for lost future profits from the concession. However, Lands Authority CEO Robert Vella, who addressed the committee, confirmed that the agreement still includes reimbursement for numerous operational and administrative costs unrelated to physical restoration.
Neither Bonnici nor Vella explained why the government departed from Abela’s earlier public commitment that only restoration expenses would be covered.
The agreement is raising concerns among financial observers, particularly given MIDI’s financial position. The company has a €50 million bond held by around 3,000 shareholders, and the payout is widely seen as enabling MIDI to meet these obligations.
Critics argue that instead of bearing the risks of a failed project, the developer is now being cushioned by public funds.
The deal also marks a sharp political U-turn for Abela, who had previously defended the concession before reversing course amid mounting public pressure to turn Manoel Island into a national park.
