An emergency motion has been moved in the Parliament on the sudden suspension of development work for Magoodhoo Airport.
An emergency motion has been moved in the Parliament on the sudden suspension of development work for Magoodhoo Airport.
The motion submitted to the People's Majlis by MP for Bilehdhoo Constituency Ahmed Haleem stated that halting the Magoodhoo Airport development project at 70 percent completion was against the incumbent President's pledge to not halt any ongoing projects.
The emergency motion also alleged that the decision was taken to help the President's sister-in-law Fatimath Saudha win the parliament seat for Nilandhoo constituency in the upcoming Majlis elections. The motion clearly stated that this was an issue where the President had undoubtedly made a decision that was influenced by familial and political gain.
"The powers conferred on the President by the Constitution are not powers that can be used for personal, familial or political gain per their constitutional definition," the Emergency Motion reads.
The motion goes on to call upon the government to reverse this decision due to detrimental socioeconomic results it poses to the state and Maldivian citizens.
During the debate held after the motion was accepted in parliament, MP Haleem said that the construction of another airport in Nilandhoo was not an issue, but that it was unacceptable for the government to stop the work of an airport that was mostly completed.
He went on to announce that he would be submitting the case to the Anti-Corruption Commission.
The people of Magoodhoo have also declared that they will continue their protests every night until the airport project recommences or until a justification is provided.
However, Construction Minister Dr. Abdulla Muththalib earlier confirmed to Mihaaru that MTCC had not been instructed to stop the airport project.
"It may have been delayed due to MTCC's own reasons. There is no direct government instruction to delay the work of Magududu airport," he said.
The project to dredge land in Nilandhoo island for the development of a new airport was awarded to MTCC on Wednesday, under the incumbent administration's policy of expanding the Maldives' domestic airport network by establishing a domestic airport within 30 minutes of every residential village, resort and industrial area in Maldives.
Under the airport development project for Nilandhoo, 42.6 hectares of land will be reclaimed, alongside the installation of 2,098 meters of rock revetment and 1,400 meters of geobag revetment.
The time taken to travel between Magoodhoo and Nilandhoo is five minutes by speedboat. A wood ferry would take the same trip in 20 - 25 minutes.
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