AIA prepares to go to court over Equator Village staff quarters

Addu International Airport Pvt Ltd (AIA) has revealed that it is preparing to take Equator Village to court over the island hotel's refusal to relocate its staff quarters for road development.

A six page statement issued by the company said that they believe that both Equator Village's staff quarters and the building adjacent to it belong to the airport company, and that the ownership transfer of both these properties without the airport's knowledge in 2013 was unlawful.

The property in question was previously issued to Equator Village's parent company Gan Invest Maldives Pv. Ltd. under an agreement by Gan International Airport. The land, which houses a building developed during the British protectorate in Addu, is over 4,000 square feet in size. At the time, the lease was MVR 40,000.

When the agreement expired and a new agreement with a higher rent was proposed in 2012, Equator Village requested to maintain the previous rent price until 2017. Gan International Airport, which operated the Gan airport, agreed to the terms.

However, in 2017, an amendment to the Tourism Act declared the land as a dedicated property for tourism purposes and transferred its ownership to the tourism ministry. Since then, all communication regarding the land took place between the ministry and Equator Village.

AIA, which now operates Gan International Airport, said they have sought legal advice regarding the matter, following which the company's management has decided to propose exploring legal avenues via court, to the board of directors.

The company said it needs the cooperation of all parties to successfully complete the project while respecting the vision and expectations of the people of Addu City and the southern region in general.

AIA also said the road under the airport project is a very important part of the project. If the road is not constructed, some of the buildings under the project may become difficult to use, the statement said.

"If the work is stopped as it is, it will also hamper the design and development of the sewerage, water system and installation of electrical cables for street lights. If these are not completed, no buildings being developed under the project would be useable," the airport said in a statement.

According to AIA, it had relocated some government offices and buildings to vacate the land required for the project, including FENAKA, police, Customs, MNDF, and even a restaurant that operated in the area.

Based on their understanding, Equator Village would only need to relocate two to three rooms from the staff quarters, AIA said, adding that another land area was offered as replacement as well. It was also agreed at a meeting with the company's executives on May 22, 2023 that arrangements would be made to ensure that the road development would not hinder movement in and out of the building on either sides.

"On August 17, 2023, the company visited the labour quarter area and identify the rooms that need to be vacated to Equator Village's management. Based on this company's findings from that day with contractors and surveyors, assurance was also given to them [Equator Village] the hotel's operation would not be disrupted," the statement also detailed.

Following these communications, AIA officially informed Equator Village to vacate the staff quarter premises. However, Equator Village reportedly said that it could only be done via the tourism ministry, after which all future communication took place with the ministry's involvement.

The company's statement further said that although Equator Village issued a statement claiming the road construction area includes a kitchen, staff mess, laundry, garage, staff recreation area and squash court, none of these buildings would need to be removed for the road development. AIA also alleged that despite Equator Village claiming the squash court was being used for tourists, the facility was being repurposed as a storage space. The squash court was also developed during the British protectorate for their personnel to play the sport.

Discussions on the issue over the past two years have not yet yielded a solution. Reports said that the tourism ministry is unable to agree with the compensation terms proposed by Equator Village's parent company.

Infrastructure Minister Dr. Abdulla Muthhalib had earlier said that if a decision is not taken by the 17th of this month, the road construction will be removed from the project because the government may be subject to heavy compensation to the Indian contractor working on the project.