President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom declared that A380 - the worlds largest passenger aircraft - will land in Velana International Airport before the Presidential Election on September 23.
Speaking at a ceremony held to inaugurate the sewerage services in Maamigili, Alif Dhaal Atoll, the president stated that in his presidency, he has taken the country to a higher level of development.
He took the development of Velana International Airport as an example for this and promised that, before the elections, the "biggest airliners" will land in the national airport of Maldives.
While USD 350 million is being spent on the expansion and development of VIA, the government had earlier revealed that the completed airport will be able to provide services to 7.5 million passengers annually.
The A380 is a European manufactured airbus featuring a double-deck and can carry 700 passengers.
President Yameen went on to say that the people of Maldives want more development and they are not going to be satisfied with only a couple of airports in the whole country. He added that he got proof of this from meeting people all over Maldives in his campaign rounds.
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