Author: Mohamed Reehaan

Rinac India Limited has been awarded the contract for the construction of a 4,000-ton cold storage facility at Lh. Felivaru. A press release by the Ministry of Economic Development said the cold storage complex development at Felivaru and the development of an ice plant facility in GA. Gemanafushi has been a joint decision from the ministry and Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO). The agreement was signed on Wednesday evening, 18th January, at HDh. Hanimaadhoo. Both the cold storage and ice plant projects were awarded to Rinac India Limited. The USD 23 million project, launched under a line of credit from…

The Maldives government launched a massive expansion project of Hanimaadhoo International Airport on Wednesday evening, 18th January. The project was inaugurated by the Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and the visiting Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The expansion project includes the development of a 2.46-kilometer runway along with the development of a new terminal building. The new terminal structure will reportedly have the capacity to accommodate 1.3 million annual travelers. The new runway will be capable to handle larger commercial aircraft like the Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s. The government contracted India’s JMC Projects, while the project is…

The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology confirmed the development of the waste-to-energy facility in Addu City is at 95% completion. The ministry said the installation of the waste-to-energy system is near completed, with the development of the control building being the only ongoing component. According to the ministry, the project will be completed by July 2023. The waste-to-energy project was funded in 2015 by Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) for AED 22 million. The project was launched with the aim of creating an eco-friendly energy facility in the southern hub. ADFD reports the project will save up…

The Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) held a vibrant ceremony on Wednesday, 18th January to mark the occasion of the first direct flight from China to the Maldives since 2020. The ceremony was held at Velana International Airport (VIA) to celebrate the arrival of flight JD455 from Beijing Daxing International Airport. This is the first visitors from China to fly directly to the Maldives following the border closure during the pandemic. At VIA, the Chinese direct arrivals were greeted with traditional BoduBeru, and a special gift pack with flowers. The event was attended by ministers, ambassadors and other…

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) claimed it was working to revise the Telegraphic Transfer (TT) limit. The central bank said it is working with local banks to resolve the dollar constraints and allow larger transactions for students living abroad. “This change will revise the policies under which banks issue US dollars to customers and make the process easier,” MMA said. Earlier, the Maldives central bank announced discontinuing the transfer of Maldivian Rufiyaa to students enrolled below A-Level standard abroad, which became effective on 01st January. With this change commercial banks are now only allowed to make international transfers in US…

Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) launches a new marketing campaign with McDonald’s; “Maldives… I’m Loving It!” MMPRC will share marketing content with McDonald’s Travel TV to promote the Maldives in the German-speaking markets; Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Under the campaign, MMPRC will advertise the Maldives in 700 McDonald’s outlets and will reach 35 million consumers. The advertisement will focus on the unique experiences of the Maldives including, beautiful underwater seascapes, shipwrecks, romantic experiences, and sandbanks. German-speaking markets are among the top source markets to the Maldives. The Ministry of Tourism confirmed 132,426 total arrivals from Germany in 2022;…

Maldives telecom and internet service provider Dhiraagu introduces a new 70GB data add-on. Dhiraagu said the new package worth MVR500 will have a 30-day validity period, and can be activated now. To act the new data add-on, customers can either send an SMS with “M500″ typed to 343 or subscribe through Dhiraagu App. Dhiraagu provides similar data add-ons to its prepaid customers under ‘Dhiraagu Combo Plans”, “Salhi Prepaid Plans”, and “Mamen”. The add-ons are prepared to grant data allowances based on customer preferences.

Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has revised their tax return forms for taxpayers reflecting the GST bump effective from 01st January 2023. The tax return form for the non-tourism taxpayer form (MIRA205) and the tourism taxpayer form (MIRA206) have been revised to reflect the GST change, MIRA said. In addition to the tax return forms, MIRA also revised the following; Input Tax Statement Output Tax Statement Capital Expenditure Information Sheet MIRA said taxpayers must submit the version 23.1 of the aforementioned forms when filing their tax returns for the taxable period that commenced after 01st January 2023.

Kaani Hotels has reportedly disbursed a total of USD75,600 (MVR1.1 million) in service charges for December 2022. The local tourism business paid USD420 (MVR6,476) to each of its 180 employees. This is also the highest-ever recorded service charge disbursed by a guesthouse operator in the Maldives, it is also higher than the average service charge payouts from most tourist resort properties. Earlier in November 2022, Kaani Hotels paid USD370 (MVR5,705) to its staff in service charges. The Chairman of Kaani Hotels and the current president of Guesthouse Association of Maldives (GAM) Abdulla Nasheed said that the company’s earnings grew significantly…

January has not ended and the Maldives already attracted over 81,000 global travelers. According to the Ministry of Tourism, Maldives has welcomed a total of 81,772 tourists as of 15th January 2023. Top 10 Markets 2023 (as of 15th Jan) Russia: 13,361 (16.3%) Italy: 9,131 (11.2%) India: 7,541 (9.2%) UK: 6,444 (7.9%) Germany: 5,023 (6.1%) USA: 3,855 (4.7%) France: 2,773 (3.4%) Kazakhstan: 1,906 (2.3%) Australia: 1,656 (2.0%) Switzerland: 1,577 (1.9%) The daily arrival average by the review date is at 5,451, and the average duration of stay is 8.3 days. Maldives recorded its highest single day arrival on Monday, 02nd…