OFID loans USD 50 million for new airport terminal

OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) signed a loan agreement granting USD 50 million (MVR 768 million) for the development of the Maldives’ main airport’s new terminal, with the promise of loaning another USD 50 million.

OFID’s Director General Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish and the Maldives’ Minister of Finance and Treasury Mohamed Munawar signed the loan agreement at a ceremony held at Hotel Jen in capital Male on Sunday.

According to Minister Munawar, the Semi-Concessional loan to develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA)’s new terminal is to be repaid within 14 years with a four year grace period. However, the minister did not disclose the loan’s interest rate.

Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Minister Munawar also announced that OFID has agreed to grant another USD 50 million, though it can only be secured depending on the progress of INIA’s new terminal project.

OFID’s Director General Suleiman praised the government’s revolutionary progress to the Maldives’ economy, declaring that INIA’s development is imperative to advancing the archipelago’s economy.

Proclaiming it an honour for OFID to aid the hefty project, Director General Suleiman highlighted that OFID has been financially aiding the Maldives since 1977, noting that the fund had also previously granted a loan for INIA’s development and expansion. He declared it a testimony to the priority OFID gives the archipelago, and vowed all possible aid in the future as well.

Minister Munawar also hailed the OFID’s continued aid to the Maldives, stating that it is currently aiding a project of USD 50 million to establish clean drinking water and sewage system across the Maldives as well as the conversion of the Equatorial Convention Centre in Addu atoll into a 100-bed hospital.

The project to develop INIA’s new terminal, estimated to cost around USD 350 million, was awarded last May to Saudi Arabia’s largest construction firm, Saudi Binladin Group. The new state-of-the-art terminal is expected to cater for seven million passengers annually.

INIA’s new terminal is part of the government’s USD 800 million (MVR 12.3 billion) project to develop and expand the airport. The project also features development of a new runway.