Author: Mohamed Reehaan

Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu officially inaugurates the Fushidhiggaru Falhu reclamation project; dubbed RasMale’. The reclamation project is managed by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). President Muizzu said the project would be completed within eight months, and pledged 65,000 units of housing inclusive of flats and land plots. The initiative is one of the most important pledges of Dr. Muizzu during his presidential campaign. The project involves the reclamation of 1,280 hectares of land along with the allocation of 11,000 land plots and 26,000 flats from the area. The new island, built as an eco-city would be connected to the…

The government expenditure reaches MVR 42.3 billion by December 07, 2023, reports the Ministry of Finance. According to the ministry’s ‘Weekly Fiscal Developments’ update posted most recently, the cumulative revenues inclusive of foreign grants by the review date stood at MVR 30.8 billion. The overall balance for the period is a deficit of MVR 11.4 billion. Tax revenues reach MVR 22.4 billion by the review date, non-tax revenues stand at MVR 7.7 billion. Capital receipts is now at MVR 305.3 million, and grants at MVR 557.6 million. The recurrent expenditure is now at MVR 28.8 billion, and the capital expenditure…

State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) announces decision to reopen the closed road entitled ‘Dhonadharaadha Hingun’ which currently houses engines of the utility provider. The road, that runs south from Ameenee Magu connects to the outer-most road, Boduthakurufaanu Magu, which also runs the full perimeter of the city. STELCO said the road would reopened ahead of Ramadan, that coincides with March 2024, after making the necessary alterations to the premises. The road, which lies next to STELCO’s compound was closed in 2010 to extend the area of the utility company’s premises, and install the generators. The generators were installed to increase…

Regional Airports Company Limited (RACL) met with the Kulhudhuffushi City council for discussions. According to RACL, its Managing Director along with senior officials met with the members of Kulhudhuffushi City council primarily to present and finalize the new terminal concept of the Kulhudhuffushi Airport. The new terminal project is aimed at enhancing the infrastructure of the airport with additional parking spaces and landscaping. Besides this, the meeting also opened up discussions on other future development opportunities as well. RACL said the meeting was in line with the Week-14 roadmap initiated by Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has appointed Fathimath Thaufeeq as the tourism board’s newest Managing Director. Her appointment to helm MMPRC comes after an initial nomination for the MD’s position at the SME Development and Finance Corporation (SDFC), which was redirected by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who instead recommended her for the MMPRC top position. Fathimath Thaufeeq holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of West of England (UWE), and has a history of various management roles. Among her previous roles include the Admin and Procurement Manager of Waste Management Corporation (WAMCo), and HR & Admin…

Dhiggaru island council recently finalized a project valued over MVR 7 million to develop a new tourism zone through the reclamation of Dhiggaru Falhu. The project has been awarded to Flexin Private Limited, is slated for completion within 30 months. The initiative includes reclamation of 10 hectares in Dhiggaru Falhu, to develop 150 rooms and a picnic island. Ahmed Nishan, Dhiggaru island council’s President informed local media the project has secured a financing of USD 500,000. Nishan underscored the employment opportunities for Dhiggaru youth within the tourism sector.

The amount of minimum investment in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) under the presidential decree has been set at USD 100 million (MVR 1.5 billion). According to the decree, as published in gazette, there are nine categories of investment currently, which include; Export oriented manufacturing activities Transshipment ports and international logistics, ports, airports, bulk breaking, bunkering, and docking services University, tertiary hospital, specialty hospital, world-class research and development facility World-class information and communication technology International finance services Renewable energy Efforts to introduce technology unavailable in the Maldives Food security Gas exploration work The SEZ Act was passed in 2014 and…

Minister of Tourism Ibrahim Faisal has promised to provide solutions for the issues related to cruise liners. The previous government implemented a new regulation stipulating tax levies per room in cruise liners, which created difficulties in the cruise liner segment of tourism. Maldives Association of Yacht Agents (MAYA) protested against this stating that the decision resulted in cruises opting for other neighboring destinations instead of the island nation. Minister of Tourism via X said that the previous administration’s decision would be rectified to provide a permanent solution. The regulation was implemented earlier in September which demanded a 16% GST per…

Abdulla Nasheed, the Chief Executive Officer of Kaani Hotels has been elected as the President of the second term of the Guesthouse Association Maldives (GAM). The Kaani Hotels honcho was elected as President for the next three years at GAM’s annual general meeting with a vote of 27 out of 29. During the AGM, key leadership positions were filled with Ahmed Waheed from Noo Moo Guesthouse and Abdul Samiu Imad from Gumbar Inn; both elected as Vice Presidents. Ahmed Naseer, the current advisor to the Ministry of Finance was appointed for the Corporate Affairs role. He is acknowledged as the…

The Maldives government has decided against renewing the Hydrography agreement made with the Indian government. The state’s decision was announced by the Under Secretary of Public Policy of the President’s Office Mohamed Firzul on last Thursday, December 14. At the press conference held Thursday to extend the progress report of the current administration’s efforts, especially the progress of the objectives under President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s “Week-14” roadmap for the first 100-day of his presidency, Firzul said the decision is aligned with the current government’s pledge to terminate all agreements with foreign parties made in detriment to the national security of…