Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) has stated that the practical work to develop the new terminal of Velana International Airport will begin during next month.
The new terminal of the largest airport in Maldives would allow MACL to provide service to over 7.5 million passengers per annum. Development and expansion project of Velana International Airport is one of the mega development projects conducted by the Government of Maldives. The project includes development of a new larger runway, expansion of fuel farm, and development of new cargo and passenger terminals. The work to develop the new runway of the airport began in February this year, and is progressing at a fast pace.
Meanwhile, Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) is to begin practical work to develop the new terminal next month. According to Managing Director of MACL, Adil Moosa, the new terminal of the airport is being developed at an area which previously held many important facilities of the airport. These facilities have been moved so as to ensure services are not interrupted prior to beginning the project to develop the new terminal in the area, Adil Moosa said. The new terminal is being developed in an area where the water supply facility and many office buildings of the airport were earlier located. Current terminal at the airport accommodates 1.5 million passengers per annum and the new terminal would allow the company to provide service to 7.5 million passengers, Adil noted. He further said that the new terminal will have a wide range of additional services and will be able to provide services to numerous passengers simultaneously.
The new terminal will include upgraded lounges, duty free and food and beverage outlets. At the new terminal, many services currently provided manually will also be upgraded to automatic. According to the Managing Director, the design of the passenger terminal has been finalised with recommendation of stakeholders such as Immigration, Customs and Aviation Security. Practical work of developing the terminal will commence next month, he said. Furthermore, land was also reclaimed from the area to accommodate the development of the large terminal. Sheet piling of this area has also now been completed. MACL targets to complete and begin providing services from the new terminal during next year. The whole mega development project of the airport is estimated to cost approximately over USD 1 billion.