Uligan ready for tourism boom with govt projects, says president

The government has done many things to boost local tourism in HA. Uligan, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said on Wednesday. 

The third stop of President Solih's two-day re-election campaign visit to the Haa Alifu atoll is Uligan.

Addressing the people of the island, President Solih said that when the first MDP government came to power in 2008, the island was ready to start expanding tourism.

“With that in mind, the then government started construction of a hotel in the island in 2008. However, the things that should have been done before that were not done,” he said.

"Water and sewerage are what we need. The island needs electricity. It needs a harbour. Without these infrastructure, tourism cannot flourish in a island. But today this island has flourished with local tourism. I think investment will come here," he said.

The president said that the government has also handed over land to the council for the construction of a hotel in Uligan. The council now receives income from renting two of the plots, he said. However, the president said that the previous government had done something that created major challenges in doing so.

"You can say that there was a suspicious agreement to build an armoury here in collaboration with a foreign country and to help the ships. It was very difficult to get out of the deal. But today, it has been sorted out. The company is still on the verge of taking the government to court to seek compensation," he said.

"When we looked, the agreement was not found in any government agency. However, the company has the agreement. When we went to the police, we found that it was signed by the real person."

However, the land has been allocated for tourism after the agreement was canceled at the request of the council and the people, he said.

The president said that Uligan is the largest yacht town in Maldives except Male area. He said that once the harbour upgrading project is completed, yachts will be able to dock at the island easier.

If elected for another term, the president promised to build housing units and pave the main road of the island.