Author: Mohamed Reehaan
The national carrier Maldivian has reopened its seaplane terminal after an upgrade that doubles the space available to passengers. Mohamed Ameen, the minister responsible for civil aviation, opened the terminal at a ceremony on Tuesday. Ibrahim Iyas, managing director of Island Aviation Services, which operates Maldivian, attended along with senior company officials. The indoor area can now handle 90 passengers at a time, with room for a further 40 in an outdoor section. The old terminal held roughly half that. What has actually changed? The terminal has been designed around Maldivian scenery and culture, and the additions include an outdoor…
SIMDI Group has opened a Rip Curl store in Kaafu atoll Maafushi, taking the Australian surf brand into a local island for the first time. The outlet stocks surf wear, swimwear, beachwear and casual lifestyle ranges for men, women and children. It was opened by SIMDI Group chairman Ibrahim Mohamed Didi, chief executive Dr. Mariyam Shakeela, and Edwin Stevens on behalf of Rip Curl, with guests and members of the local community attending. Maafushi is the fifth Rip Curl location in the country. The brand already trades at Crossroads Maldives, Niyama Private Islands, Adaaran Select Hudhuranfushi and Hulhumalé. Why Maafushi?…
Infrastructure Minister Dr Abdulla Muththalib has said the agreement signed with Abu Dhabi’s Eagle Hills to develop The Maldives Waterfront and Marina at Rasmalé is the largest investment in the country’s history, and that was secured without the state granting any tax concession and without the government taking on any debt. Speaking to the media after the signing, the minister said that the state will earn direct revenue from the various goods and services sold under the project, and that billions of dollars in foreign investment will circulate through the Maldivian banking system. He added that the project will deliver…
One of Russia’s largest domestic carriers, S7 Airlines, has announced its direct flight operations to the Maldives; scheduled from Novosibirsk to Malé from October 30, 2026 onward. This marks the first-ever regular service connecting Novosibirsk to the Maldives outside the Moscow aviation hub. The airline reportedly will operate twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays using its Airbus A320 flights. The outbound flight departs Tolmachevo International Airport (OVB) in Novosibirsk at 04:25hrs, arriving at Velana International Airport (MLE) in Malé at 13:00hrs local time. The return flight leaves Malé at 14:10hrs and arrives back in Novosibirsk at 02:30hrs the following morning.…
The Maldives government has signed an agreement with Adu Dhabi-based property developer Eagle Hills to build a waterfront and marina destination at Rasmalé, the new city rising out of the Fushidhiggaru lagoon near Malé. The agreement was signed at a ceremony in Dubai on Monday by Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Minister Dr Abdulla Muththalib, on behalf of the Maldives government and Eagle Hills founder and chairman Mohamed Alabbar on behalf of the company. The project is entitled Maldives Waterfront and Marina. Locally, the deal has been reported as a USD 20 billion investment – approximately MVR 308 billion, a…
A webinar intended to explain a tax change turned instead into the clearest warning the island nation’s tourism industry has received in years. The Tourism Ministry, the Finance Ministry, and the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) jointly held the said webinar at 17:00hrs on Tuesday evening to brief foreign tour operators on the amendment to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, which brings overseas booking platforms, travel agents and tour operators within the Maldivian GST net from next month. Some 800 participants joined. Over the course of roughly 45 minutes, the live chat filled with anger, and not one…
The Unicode Consortium has released version 18.0 of the Unicode Standard, and the Maldivian Rufiyaa symbol has been included in it. The code point assigned to the Rufiyaa symbol under Unicode Standard version 18.0 is U+20C2. The symbol itself is not new. The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) introduced it back in 2022, and what has changed today is that the symbol now carries a place in the international character standard which software of every description is built to read. MMA said that the inclusion will allow the Rufiyaa symbol to be used to a single consistent standard across websites, mobile…
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim arrived in the Maldives on a state visit, having accepted the invitation of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. President Muizzu himself received the Malaysian PM at Velana International Airport (VIA) upon his arrival. The two governments held an official welcome ceremony in the Prime Minister’s honor on Monday, after which Anwar and President Muizzu held official talks. The talks focused on strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries. Besides this, both leaders also witnessed the exchange of several Memoranda of Understanding. This marks the Malaysian Prime Minister’s maiden visit to the Maldives since assuming office in…
The Business Centre Corporation (BCC) has said that more than 800 forms have been submitted by the time the deadline closed for the competitive category of this year’s national productivity and innovation exposition. Speaking on the programme aired on state media, BCC’s Assistant Director for Strategic Development and Regional Services, Areesha Moosa, said that this year’s expo has been receiving a considerably greater response than that of last year, and that upwards of 800 applications had been received as at the closing of the said deadline. Areesha said that they had received a strong response across all 8 fields opened…
The Attorney General of the Maldives, Uz Ahmed Usham, has said that the government has no intention, for the present, of bringing any further amendment to the law with regards to the exchange of foreign currency. Under the amendment already brought to the Foreign Exchange Act, the proportion of foreign currency which Category-A tourism establishments in the Maldives are required to exchange within the country’s banking system has been set at 40%. Businesses operating in the tourism sector are required to act in accordance with the said change from October 2026. What Prompted This Question? At a press conference held…