Economic Minister: Addu will have 6,000 tourist beds by time airport’s done

Addu City will have 6,000 tourist beds by the time the project to develop the Gan International Airport is complete, with the Hankede and guesthouse projects, states Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail.

He made the comment during the signing of the contract for the Gan airport project Sunday.

Speaking at the signing, Fayyaz said the project would open a new chapter of development of Maldives’ southern atolls. He said the project will boost the socioeconomic development of the entire region.

Fayyaz said that though Addu had gained the legal status of a ‘city’ years back, the atoll continued to lack the infrastructure development of a city.

He said that the current administration acknowledges the shortcomings, had was implementing a wholistic plan to develop Addu as the main economic hub of southern Maldives.

“As such, projects are in progress to develop the roads of Addu, establish a storm drain system, develop the harbor, reclaim the land, and develop tourism zones,” he said.

Fayyaz said the airport project will create new opportunities in tourism, and that the administration was working on introducing tourist beds in the region. He said that the administration was preparing to develop Hankede, and find solutions to reopen Shangri-La Resort & Spa in Vilingili.

Fayyaz said that five islands would be reclaimed for development as resorts under the larger land reclamation project. He said the administration was also working on remedying the challenges faced by the people allocated land to develop guesthouses in financing the projects.

“This will be mobilized in March or April. The work on finding funding for the Hankede project is nearly complete. There are some delays because we have yet to reach an agreement with guesthouse owners,” he said.

Fayyaz said that by the time the airport is developed, Addu will have some 6,000 tourist beds – with the guesthouses and the Hankede project.

Fayyaz said that tourism in Addu is different from the rest of Maldives, resulting in major challenges in developing the business through the private sector, due to the hesitancy of most investors in investing in different products.

He said that the lack of existence of related infrastructure poses a huge challenge.

“The Shangri-La wouldn’t have had to close if the airport had been developed. Herethere wouldn’t have had to close if the airport had been developed. We wouldn’t have had to lease Hankede to so many parties so many times and then terminate the agreement. Guesthouses would develop on their own,” he said.

Fayyaz said the modernization of Gan International Airport will also boost additional sectors, including the fisheries sector, as it will make the export of yellowfin tuna easier.

The Gan airport project has been awarded to Renaatus, an Indian construction company.

The agreement was signed by Addu International Airport Company’s Managing Director Gais Naseer and Renaatus’ Chairman Selvasundaram Poosapan.

The project is being financed with a USD 17 million (MVR 272.2 million) loan from India’s EXIM Bank.

The Gan International Airport in Addu is set to be developed with a passenger terminal and facilities to serve 1.5 million passengers annually.

The facilities that will be developed under the project includes duty free shops, restaurants, lounges, a new control tower, fire station, cargo and cold storage facilities, as well as roads and parking areas.

The Gan International Airport has been described by the Economic Ministry as the main gate to southern Maldives, making the modernization and upgrade of the airport’s capacity and services crucial to the development of the region.