Prime Minister Robert Abela has declared that the government will turn White Rocks into a national park.
The White Rocks complex in Pembroke was once a military barracks built in the 1960s, but was later turned into a holiday complex. It has since fallen into disrepair. Development of the site was initially attempted back in 1990s by a Nationalist government but failed to gain any momentum and was put on hold. In 2010, there was an attempt to develop the site as a sports village but, again, this did not gain enough interest. In June 2014 the White Rocks project was reinitiated, but nothing became of it and to this day remains in disrepair.
Now the Prime Minister has declared the government’s intention to turn the site into a national park.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, during his reply to the 2026 Budget, the Prime Minister mentioned Manoel Island, saying that the PN had passed on the island for property speculation. “We will give Manoel Island back to the people. It wasn’t an easy decision as there was a contract which is not easy to contest,” he said. “We already got a clear and written commitment that the massive development that was planned for Manoel Island will not take place. Instead of development there will be a national family park. We are working to finalise the agreement so that this land would be returned to the people,” he said.
Abela here mentioned a second project. “It is not enough that we are going to implement the biggest and most beautiful environmental project on Manoel Island. I believe that instead of one national environmental project, we should have two,” he said, which will be implemented at the same time.
The Prime Minister said that this second project will be White Rocks. He said that ten years ago a tender was issued, which is still open and not finalized. “I will take the decision which no other government before this one had the courage to take. I believe that our country should change the decision and its direction regarding this land. We will decide in favour of the people. We will be cancelling the public call that was issued for the development of this land, and instead we will give this land to the people in the form of an open and green park.” Abela also said that the government wants to give a perpetual guarantee that the land will never be built.
This article will be updated shortly
