Amendment proposed for extension of resort leases

The government of Maldives has proposed an amendment to the Tourism Act which would change the duration within which payments need to be made to extend the leases if islands and lands issued for resort development.

According to the existing law, the lease of an island or land issued for resort development can only be extended up to 50 years, unless the party agrees to pay USD 100,000 for every year extended, within two years time. If the party decides to extend the payment period beyond two years, they would need to pay USD 200,000 for every year extended.

However, MP of Dhan'gethi constituency Abdulla Rasheed, submitted an amendment on behalf of the government, proposing this to be changed.

According to the amendment:

- If payment is to be settled within six months, the charge would be USD 100,000 per each year extended.

- If payment is to be settled within a period longer than six months, the charge would be USD 200,000 per each year extended.

According to the existing law, the lease can be extended for a period of 49 years if the parting leasing the land or island does not have any outstanding rent, fine, tax or fee owed to the government.

The law also states that USD 5 million has to be settled as a one time fee of extending the lease within the first two years. If the lease is to be extended for 99 years, then the amount goes upto USD 10 million.

The new amendment proposed seeks to change this as well. According to it, the USD 5 million has to be settled within six months, and if it is paid after six months, then the amount goes up to USD 10 million.