MTDC seeks MVR 462m loan to complete Naagoashi resort
By 2016, the agreement was terminated due to non-payment of rent and lack of progress.
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The Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is pursuing a loan to complete the unfinished resort project in HDh. Naagoashi, which has remained undeveloped since it was first allocated to the corporation 17 years ago.
The Naagoashi resort was first initiated in 2007, when MTDC signed an agreement with Russian company Threecare to develop a 600-bed facility. By 2016, the agreement was terminated due to non-payment of rent and lack of progress, although 37 percent of the resort had been constructed at that point.
The timeline of the project is as follows:
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2007: MTDC signs development agreement with Threecare.
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2016: Agreement cancelled; project 37% complete.
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2017: Island returned to the Ministry of Tourism.
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2021: Island reallocated to MTDC and Galadari Holdings of Dubai.
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2023: Contract with Galadari terminated due to lack of progress.
At MTDC’s Annual General Meeting in July 2023, Managing Director Ahmed Niyaz announced the company’s intention to complete the Naagoashi resort independently. He stated that work on the project would resume in the final quarter of 2023.
However, sources confirmed that reconstruction work has not commenced due to a lack of funding. Last month, the MTDC board decided to seek a loan to proceed with the project.
Sources also confirmed that MTDC has applied to the Bank of Maldives (BML) for a loan of USD 30 million (approximately MVR 462 million) to finance the completion of the resort. It remains unclear whether BML has made a decision regarding the application.
Attempts to obtain a comment from MTDC Managing Director Niyaz were unsuccessful. BML was also unavailable for comment.
To date, none of the resort projects undertaken by MTDC have reached successful completion. Several islands allocated to the company by the government have been sold or leased to third parties. Some of those islands are currently operated by private resorts.
