India-funded Hanimaadhoo Airport development project begins
"This is the realisation of the north's greatest aspiration," Minister Fayyaz said.
Re-development of HDh. Hanimaadhoo International Airport began on Wednesday.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Indian external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar, who is currently in the Maldives, inaugurated the project, which is being developed under a loan of USD 136.6 million (MVR 2.1 billion) from Exim Bank of India.
The project has been awarded to JMC Exports, a major infrastructure company in India. The airport is being developed as follows:
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The airport will be operational by 2024
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A new 2.46-km runway will be set up
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A state-of-the-art new terminal will be built to cater to 1.3 million passengers a year
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Airbus A320 and Boeing 737s will be able to operate at Hanimaadhoo airport
In a video released at the ceremony, economy minister Fayyaz Ismail said that the development of Hanimaadhoo airport was a long-standing aspiration of the people of the north. Fayyaz said that this will give life to the entire country's economy and make Hanimadhoo the main hub of the North.
"This is the realisation of the north's greatest aspiration," Minister Fayyaz said.
'Tourism to grow with project, jobs will increase'
Some of the islanders, who were interviewed for the video report shown at the event, said that once the airport is developed, they will be able to export fish directly out of the island. A Hanimaadhoo resident said that with the expansion of the airport, jobs and development in the economy will help start new businesses.
"It will increase jobs and give life to the entire north's economy," he said.
According to a guest house trader in Hanimaadhoo, there are no direct flights from abroad to Hanimaadhoo airport so it takes a lot of effort to bring tourists to the island. He pointed out that tourism development was a hindrance in the development of the industry on the island, and that with the development of the airport, tourists can come directly from outside. Eight flights will be operated and tourism will flourish in the atoll, he said.
