$10 million Maniyafushi investment aimed at fish farming industry

Mariculture Maldives Pvt Ltd has begun reclamation work in K. Maniyafushi lagoon as part of a project aimed at developing aquaculture in the Maldives, with company head Amir Mansoor rejecting claims that the project is intended for resort development.

The project involves an investment of approximately US$10 million and is being undertaken on a 2.5-hectare area leased from the government for a period of 50 years.

The lease was awarded under provisions governing private sector initiative proposals, with rent set at 10 laari per square foot.

According to an agreement signed on 16 December between the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources and Mariculture Maldives, the leased area can only be used for aquaculture activities. The agreement grants the ministry authority to terminate the lease if any other activity is carried out within the designated zone.

Speaking about the project, Amir said claims that the company intends to develop a tourism operation in the lagoon are inconsistent with the terms of the agreement.

He shared details of the agreement and noted that the company is required not only to undertake aquaculture operations but also to provide utilities to the Fisheries Ministry's research facility located on Maniyafushi.

According to Amir, Mariculture Maldives has been supplying electricity and water to the research centre for the past eight months.

“We are spending around MVR 350,000 per month just on electricity and water. We have been incurring this expense for the past eight months,” he said.

The company has installed a generator to provide electricity to the island and has begun establishing an additional water production system.

The agreement also requires Mariculture Maldives to support projects and activities carried out by the Fisheries Ministry on Maniyafushi.

Under the terms of the lease, the ministry retains the authority to inspect the project area and infrastructure at any time if it believes there may be a breach of the agreement or relevant laws.

Officials are permitted to conduct inspections without prior notice, while travel, accommodation and meal expenses for inspection visits must be borne by the company.

“This is a very strictly framed agreement. Yet people are claiming it was given to build a resort,” Amir said.

The agreement further states that the Fisheries Ministry's facilities on Maniyafushi remain under ministry control and management.

If Mariculture Maldives requires access to the research centre for studies or research, it must first obtain permission from the ministry and ensure that ministry operations are not disrupted.

“We are conducting mariculture. Even to use the research centre for study, it clearly says we must get ministry approval. It is written that explicitly. Yet everyone keeps saying Maniyafushi was handed over,” Amir said.

Following the completion of environmental assessments, reclamation work has begun and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

According to Amir, the reclaimed area will be enclosed using geobags and will not be developed for tourism purposes.

“There won't be any beach at all. You need a beach to do anything else. This agreement leaves no option or choice to pursue any other activity,” he said.

Once operational, the project is expected to produce between 600 and 800 tonnes of reef fish every six months.

The planned production includes grouper, red snapper, humpback snapper and emperor fish.

Amir said only a small portion of production is expected to be sold locally, with the majority intended for export markets.

“Only about 10% of what we produce here will cater to the local Maldivian market. We are primarily targeting the export market,” he said.

He argued that aquaculture could provide a new source of foreign currency earnings for the Maldives and complement the country's fisheries sector.

While tourism remains the country's largest source of foreign currency income, fisheries continue to play a significant role in the economy.

Amir said expanding aquaculture would help increase exports and reduce dependence on imported seafood products currently supplied to the domestic market, including the tourism industry.

The project forms part of broader efforts to develop mariculture as a commercial sector in the Maldives and increase the contribution of fisheries-related industries to the national economy.