Maldives Ports Limited CEO Mohamed Wajeeh Ibrahim has said that with Bangladesh starting to export garments via Maldives, the amount of incoming containers have now doubled.
Maldives Ports Limited CEO Mohamed Wajeeh Ibrahim has said that with Bangladesh starting to export garments via Maldives, the amount of incoming containers have now doubled.
Wajeeh said that, on average, 50 containers were brought to Maldives previously. Now, the number is above 90. With this, revenues are also expected to significantly increase.
Wajeeh credits this improvement to the introduction of Sea to Air Cargo services.
Sea to Air Cargo involves exporting goods brought via sea through air transport after transit. This is a practice currently conducted in many countries, and proven to contribute positively to the economy.
Wajeeh said that a large percentage of the garments brought in from Bangladesh are sent via air transfer to European nations. Until now, a large part of these goods were sent via Sri Lanka and India.
To begin the service in the Maldives, MPL first signed an agreement with Turkish Airlines in March. The first cargo shipment was sent in May.
Wajeeh said that with this service, 96 containers were exported in October, amounting to about 418 tonnes of goods.
Seven airlines traveling to Maldives are currently part of this service.