President-elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has expressed hope that the new terminal at Velana International Airport (VIA) will be open for the peak tourism season next year. He made the remark while inaugurating the Hotelier Maldives General Manager (GM) Forum.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, President-elect Muizzu highlighted the importance of completing the VIA project for the development of the tourism industry. As such, he expressed hope that the contractors and investors in the project will expedite the work and open the new terminal before the peak season next year, which would benefit tourism and the aviation sector.
The project to develop the passenger terminal was initially contracted to the Bin Laden Group of Saudi Arabia in May 2016. However, the project was put on hold due to different reasons before the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) renewed the contract with Bin Laden Group in June 2019. The project, which involves the construction of a 78,000sqm terminal, costs USD357 million. The new terminal is designed to cater to seven million passengers per year, up from the current capacity of serving 1.5 million passengers.
Furthermore, President-elect Muizzu said that that his plan for the aviation sector includes the development of 13 more domestic airports. He also said that a seaplane hub will be development in the southern region with the aim to expand tourism in all parts of the country. He added that the government will support the development of tourism and facilitate aircraft with large passenger capacity to increase the number of visits.
Moreover, President-elect Muizzu spoke about empowering women in tourism. He vowed to harmonise pay and amend the law to create more opportunities for women in the industry.