Author: Mohamed Reehaan

Maldives has once again been included in the Covid-19 “Green List” destinations of Abu Dhabi. The island nation was earlier removed from the “Green List” on 17th August, which has been rectified by Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Department in their most recent weekly revision. Along with Maldives, Abu Dhabi’s “Green List” currently consists of 55 countries. Moreover, with this recent inclusion, travelers from Maldives will not be subjected for a quarantine upon their arrival at the UAE capital. Although quarantine measures are no longer mandatory, they are still required to perform a PCR test at the Abu Dhabi International Airport upon…

Tuesday, 31st August – Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) reports on the commencement of breakwater construction under Shaviyani atoll Foakaidhoo harbor project. Furthermore, the contractor reports that the breakwater construction had kicked off on 15th August 2021. Project scope includes dredging operations for the new harbor basin spanning 39,995 cubic meters along with 1800 cubic meters of dredging involved in the existing harbor basin. In addition to this, MTCC will dredging 4000 cubic meters of the harbor channel as well. Additionally, the contractor will construct a 507 meter breakwater, a 100 meter revetment and a 464 meter quay wall.…

Maldives tourism industry has made several notable strides in terms of both growth and expansion. What started out with a single tourist resort in Kaafu atoll back in 1972, the country’s tourism industry currently boasts over 150 tourist resorts. Moreover, the Maldivian tourism industry has expanded its segments from single island tourist resorts into the local tourism, safari vessels and liveaboards as well as integrated resort islands. Safaris and liveaboards became integrated into Maldivian tourism industry nearly two decades back, while local tourism industry came to life roughly a decade back; initiated in 2010 during the former President Mohamed Nasheed’s…

Monday, 30th August – Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) reveals on commencing the shore protection project at Meemu atoll Dhiggaru. Moreover, as per the project contractor they initiated the works at the island on 28th August, Saturday. The project scope includes reclamation operations of 25 hectares of area close to the island along with the construction of a 384 meter rock boulder revetment and a 287 meter breakwater. Furthermore, MTCC has reported that the value of the entire project is a total of MVR121.84 million.

Monday, 30th August – Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) confirms on the successful completion of Raa atoll Dhuvaafaru land reclamation works. Moreover, the contractor reports that the first shipment of rock boulders required for the shore protection work was delivered to the project site on 28th August, Saturday. According to MTCC, the land reclamation and shore protection project at Dhuvaafaru entail dredging and excavation operations of 22.2 hectares of area. While the project value is a total of MVR143.1 million, as the contractor MTCC will be constructing a 423 meter rock boulder revetment along with a 315 meter breakwater.

Manta Air has reported on increasing its fleet capacity with the recent addition of a new seaplane into its operations. Moreover, it was reported that the aircraft landed at Velana International Airport (VIA) on Sunday evening from Canada. The planes generally take a week’s duration to arrive in Maldives from its manufacturer destination. Since the new plane is at default setup, Manta Air confirms that the wheels will be replaced with floaters and water rudders prior to putting the plane into official operations. Furthermore, this new seaplane addition has brought Manta Air’s seaplane fleet to a total of eight. Manta…

Bank of Maldives (BML) has announced positive changes to their recently introduced Home Improvement Loan in order to facilitate easy access finance for Hiyaa social housing scheme recipients. As per the national bank of the island nation, with the new changes customers can now apply for the home improvement loan with joint borrowers who have verifiable income. Moreover, in order to be eligible as a joint borrower, they must be an immediate family member with a legal connection to the property owner and could be either a spouse, children, siblings, parents or even grandparents to the property owner. The Home…

Mayor of Addu City Mr. Ali Nizar during a press conference held by Addu Emergency Operation Center (AEOC) on Saturday confirmed that the city will observe a curfew for a two-week duration. Furthermore, Mr. Nizar notified that the curfew will remain effective from 21:00hrs until 04:00hrs of the following day for the two week duration. With the sudden resurgence of Covid-19 positive cases in the city, the mayor had claimed that venues that attract public such as shops, cafes and restaurants will not be permitted to offer in-person services during the curfew hours. Additionally, the city’s schools will be closed…

Sunday, 29th August – Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) confirms on new developments of the design and build of Alif Alif atoll Ukulhas harbor development project. Moreover, the contractor company had reported that the work on the harbor’s quay and jetty are currently underway while the installation of precast concrete blocks for the quay wall have been completed, MTCC has finished installation of the mooring hooks at the jetty. The overall progress of the harbor development project has observed 75% progress – inching closer to completion. Meanwhile, the contractor had reported on Sunday on currently executing the installation of…

Ministry of Tourism has revealed that 99% of the total resort employees working in the Maldivian tourism industry have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccination. As of 26th August 2021, the state body confirmed that the total employees who have been fully vaccinated as of the review date stood at 93%. Moreover, from 1st to 25th August the total tourist Covid-19 cases as a percentage total of the total tourist arrivals stood at just 0.09%. Meanwhile, a total of 379,379 individuals in the island nation have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccination while 300,427 have been administered with…