Author: Mohamed Reehaan
The nation airline, Maldivian’s more recently acquired ATR aircraft made its maiden flight to Gan International Airport in Addu City on Saturday evening, 21st January. Maldivian’s new ATR 72-600 aircraft landed at Gan at around 17:45hrs on Saturday. The airline launched its new ATR flight operations with new in-flight services including additional food options during trips. The ATR-72 planes have a passenger capacity of 70, and comes equipped with the latest turboprop engines. The airline reports the new ATR variants require 20% less maintenance cost compared to Maldivian’s older Dash-8 models. Additionally, these planes require 3% less fuel compared to…
Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) is taking part in the MATKA Nordic Travel Fair 2023. The travel trade fair kicked off on 19th January and will last until 22nd January. This year’s MATKA Nordic Travel Fair is held at the Messukeskus Helsinki Expo and Convention Center, in Helsinki, Finland. MMPRC is accompanied by 13 industry partners, and this is the first time the Maldivian premier tourism promotion body is taking part since 2020. MATKA is the largest travel fair in Northern Europe, bringing together over 1,000 travel organizers, destinations, and tourism organizations from over 80 countries. Over 68,000…
Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) on Friday, 20th January, launched its Raajje Transport Link (RTL) bus service in Vilimale’. MTCC Chief Executive Officer Adam Azim launched the service at a ceremony held on Friday evening. The corporation had earlier transported six EV buses to Vilimale’ before the launch of the RTL service. Azim said the service is MTCC’s answer to years of public pleas for a public transportation system in Vilimale’. “The island lacked proper public transportation, and this was causing problems for many, especially the elderly and those with special needs, whether it was sunny or rainy. We…
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.