VIA development's second phase launched to serve 25m passengers
It will create an additional 25% of the existing jobs at the airport, which is about 1,000 more job opportunities, he said.
By
Aishath Fareeha Abdulla
The second phase of the development of Velana International Airport (VIA) has been inaugurated with a new international terminal with a capacity to serve 25 million passengers per annum.
The project was inaugurated at a ceremony at the Dharubaaruge on Thursday evening.
Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) Managing Director Ibrahim Shareef said the second phase of the airport development will be the largest project to be implemented there.
Noting that the airport development work is an ongoing project, Shareef said the majority of the work will be completed by the end of this year.
It will create an additional 25% of the existing jobs at the airport, which is about 1,000 more job opportunities, he said.
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The international terminal already under construction will be able to handle 7 million passengers annually
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With President Mohamed Muizzu's vision, this number will increase to 25 million
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It can handle 4,000 passengers per hour
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The domestic terminal, which currently handles 300 domestic passengers per hour, will be developed and the number will increase to 2,000
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A special low-cost terminal for budget airlines will be built to handle 1,000 passengers per hour
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Seaplane services will be further developed
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A new Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) facility will be established
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The capacity of the cargo terminal will be increased to 3,000 metric tonnes
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Parking capacity will be increased to accommodate 70 aircraft at a time
Shareef said the airport serves 2,000 private jets annually but there is no dedicated terminal to serve the high-end tourists.
The airport development project’s second phase, which was inaugurated on Thursday evening, includes the construction of a jet terminal as well.
