Businessman behind Sliema lido land grab to host PL party

As controversy continues to mount over plans to privatise another stretch of Malta’s coastline, businessman Darren Casha, one of the key figures behind the proposed Sliema/Gżira lido project, will tonight host Prime Minister Robert Abela and the Labour Party youth section at his MedAsia Playa lido in Tigné.

The event, expected to attract hundreds of Labour supporters, will include DJs, entertainment, and free food and drinks.

Sources told The Shift that Casha will not be charging the Labour Party for the use of the venue.

The timing could not be more striking. Just days after revelations emerged of a controversial planning application seeking to transform part of the Gżira promenade and surrounding seabed into a sprawling private lido and entertainment complex, one of the businessmen behind the project is now hosting the Prime Minister and Labour’s younger generation for a political event at his beachfront establishment.

Planning application PA03174/26 proposes the takeover of a significant stretch of public coastline along The Strand for a development including decking areas, restaurants, bars, entertainment facilities and a large lido catering primarily to tourists and hotel guests.

Behind the application are three separate hotel operators: the Farrugia family-owned Londoner Hotel, the Verdi Hotel operated through the Libyan Arab Maltese Holding Company (LAMHCO) managed by Corinthia, and the Pebbles Resort Group, linked to the Casha family.

One of the central figures in the project is Daniel Farrugia, the partner of MP Rosianne Cutajar. Together with his father, businessman Lino Farrugia, widely known as “Lino tal-Options”, he is among the principal shareholders involved in the proposed development.

The government’s role in the project is particularly sensitive. Through its involvement in LAMHCO, the Maltese state is effectively tied to one of the entities backing the application, raising fresh concerns over conflicts of interest and the continued transfer of public land into private hands.

The Shift previously revealed that despite the scale of the project, the application has yet to obtain consent from the Lands Authority. However, sources familiar with the process said approval is expected after the next general elections.

Casha himself remains a controversial figure in Labour circles. In text messages made public during previous investigations, Rosianne Cutajar had referred to him as “a shady businessman”. He is also widely regarded as a close associate of disgraced former minister Konrad Mizzi.

Public records show that the MedAsia entertainment business has since been absorbed into the wider Pebbles hospitality group, officially owned by Joseph Casha but increasingly managed by Darren Casha himself.

So far, Prime Minister Robert Abela has remained silent on the proposed lido project and whether his government intends to approve the further privatisation of public coastline by business interests closely linked to the Labour Party.