Maldives government has today signed an agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development for an additional loan for the development of the new terminal at Velana International Airport.
Maldives government has today signed an agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development for an additional loan for the development of the new terminal at Velana International Airport.
Under this agreement, Saudi Fund has extended an additional loan of USD 17 million (MVR 262 million).
The agreement was signed at a ceremony held at the President's Office this morning. The agreement was signed by Minister of Finance Moosa Zameer and Saudi Fund CEO Sultan Abdul Rahman Al-Marshad.
Minister Zameer emphasized that Saudi Fund is a key partner in Maldives' development, who has also extended support for the health sector, housing, and disaster management.
He said that the most major assistance has been towards the development of Velana International Airport (VIA), expressing gratitude for the assistance provided since 2016. He noted that this is the third loan aid provided by the fund for the VIA project.
Saudi Fund CEO Sultan Abdul Rahman Al-Marshad stated that the new loan addition would contribute towards building capacity of the airport to cater to seven million passengers annually. He further said that it would aid in expanding the area necessary for cargo operations.
Marshad highlighted that this would also created employment opportunities. He said that since 1978, the fund has provided loans of USD 242 million for airport development.
He went on to state that over the past years, the Fund has extended 17 loans worth USD 488 million (MVR 7.5 billion) to the Maldives.
Finance Ministry Zameer stressed upon the importance of the VIA expansion project, stating that despite delays, the current government is prioritizing expedited completion of the project.
Last May, the Saudi Fund extended a loan of USD 100 million (MVR 1.5 billion) for the VIA expansion project. Earlier in 2016, they had extended another loan of the same amount.
WIth the USD 17 million loan agreed upon today, the Saudi Fund has now provided total loans of USD 217 million (MVR 3.3 billion) for the VIA expansion project.
Sign In