83 islands leased for resort development stalled, says minister

The Minister of Tourism Dr. Abdulla Mausoom has claimed that a total of 83 islands leased by the state for resort development over the years, are still stalled without progress.

While responding to inquiries by lawmakers at the parliament, the minister notified that several developers were provided with extra time limit for construction period upon request.

As per the policies, developers are granted with three years to construct and develop a property by default, while any project that involves land reclamation, then the developers are provided with five years.

Developers are subjected to pay rent on leased properties after a fixed grace period, regardless of the state of work progress.

Meanwhile, the minister affirms that the state body has identified issues that stall the developmental projects, for which, Dr. Mausoom claims, resolutions have been found.

According to the minister, agreements made between the state and the developer will become automatically void if they fail to complete the development project within the default duration; unless specific circumstances have been reported to the ministry.

Furthermore, the minister urged lessees to seek capable developers or financiers who will ensure continued development without hiccups.

In the parliament's inquiry of the tourism sector, the minister noted fresh developments in Thaa atoll with multiple islands proposed for resort development, with some already leased for development.

The minister affirmed that the evaluation process of the latest batch of local inhabited islands announced for tourist development, will be completed by the end of April.

Additionally, he claimed a total of 16 tourist resorts are expected to debut in 2022.

He also pointed on the plight faced by Huvadhu Atoll, noting that the region requires an international airport to boost tourist arrivals.

Speaking about tourist arrivals, the minister further confirmed that tourists arriving to Maldives from Russia have gone down by 70 percent owing to the ongoing geopolitical struggle between Russia and Ukraine.