Vashafaru City Hotel's issue resurfaces again

The long-standing issue of a city hotel which was being developed in Haa Alif atoll's Vashafaru island, which began construction over a decade ago but still remains unfinished, has once again sparked public concern.

The hotel development agreement was made with Tholhath Rasheed, a man from Haa Alif atoll's Hoarafushi. Although the project, which is located near the 'bodu thundi' [beach area] of the island, was due to be completed within five years, it remained incomplete, leading to Vashafaru island's council to terminate the agreement in February this year.

Following this, Tholhath filed a complaint regarding the matter with the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC).

While islanders took to the streets yesterday, protesting over the underutilisation of the island's most attractive landmarks, Vashafaru council issued a statement criticising the Tourism Minister over the hotel issue.

According to the statement issued yesterday, signed by four council members, work on the 300,000 square feet of land allocated in 2014 for tourism activities in the western side of Vashafaru is still incomplete. The also said that none of the CSR work has also been fulfilled. It further detailed that when the council set a rental rate of MVR two per square foot for the 35,000 square feet of land adjacent to the city hotel, used as a storage area for construction equipment, the contractor refused to pay, claiming that the land belonged to the ministry and not the council.

Under the CSR component of the project, cable TV and internet services, construction of an extension building of the health centre, procurement of laboratory equipment and development of water and sewerage systems were also required to be completed, the council said. However, while this has not be done, the government has since started developing the sewerage system and has completed more than 80 percent of the work, the council also added.

As such, the council now claims that the island should be compensated by the private party for the work done by the government. The council also expressed dissatisfaction over the fact that that when dialogue was created with the ministry regarding the matter, the Ministry suggested that compensation was not warranted.

"However, we strongly condemn the Tourism Ministry's stance which suggests that council should not receive funds for the water and sewerage [systems]," the statement reads.

The council stated that their efforts to clarify the project's progress were met with no cooperation from the Ministry. They also mentioned that, despite being formally invited to share updates at the town hall meeting held by the council on 16th September, the Ministry did not respond.

The statement also detailed that while the council continues to seek updates in the matter, Tourism Ministry has now decided to amend the MoU with the council. They described this as a depravation of power from the council and its people.

Tourism Ministry declined from commenting when asked about these allegations.

The issue of Vashafaru's city hotel escalated during the last presidential election when the then President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih visited the island as well. As a presidential pledge, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said at the time that he was aware of the court's decision on the hotel issue and promised to resolve it as soon as possible.

The incumbent President, Dr. Mohammed Muizzu also visited the island during his campaign and pledged to open the hotel within six months.