Maldives seeks India investors for 3 resorts near Hanimaadhoo

Tourism minister Ibrahim Faisal said on Thurdday that Indian investors are being sought to develop and open three resorts in the region close to HDh. Hanimaadhoo International Airport.

Briefing the media on the success of the Welcome India roadshow held in India last week, Faisal said an airport should have 4,000-6,000 beds in the region to operate optimally.

Noting that the Hanimaadhoo airport's expansion is now being completed, Faisal said more tourism beds should be developed near the airport to run it properly. He said:

"Despite the budget constraints, various stakeholders in the industry want to go to India once again this year. By the time the investor forum opens, we want to find enough investors to start 2-3 high-end resort projects there," Faisal said.

President Mohamed Muizzu's tourism development advisor Mohamed Haleel, who attended the press conference, said the airport could become a “white elephant” if tourism beds are not built in the area by the time it opens. If that happens, the state will have to spend a lot to run the airport, he said.

To get rid of that, tourism investments should be directed to the Hanimaadhoo and the region from now on, he said. He called on small and medium enterprises to invest in tourism in the region.

“I would say that small and medium level businesses should invest in Hanimaadhoo. It would be better to build 50-20 room guesthouses," Haleel said.

He said the guesthouse business is not expanding in some parts of the country due to the high cost of transportation to those areas. The solution, Haleel said, is to operate direct flights from abroad to these areas.

Haleel said the expansion of guesthouses in different areas would benefit the entire economy. He said the good results would be seen in the construction of guesthouses in Hanimaadhoo and the region.

"Then the whole country's economy will improve. The tax base will improve," Haleel said.

The Hanimaadhoo airport is being constructed by Kalpataru Projects International Limited (KPIL), one of the largest Engineering and Construction companies in India