Equator Village issue resolved, Addu airport road development continues

Equator Village has changed its mind on its previous refusal to vacate some of its staff quarters to make way for the road development in Gan island as part of Gan International Airport's expansion project, said Housing Minister Dr. Abdulla Muthhalib.

In a post on X, the minister said he had discussed with all relevant stakeholders the issue of Equator Village's labour quarters, which, until now, had hampered the construction of a road that was being developed as part of the Gan International Airport expansion project. He also said that Addu Airport Company, which operates the Gan International Airport, informed the ministry on Thursday that the issue has been resolved.

This progress will allow the road construction work to continue as planned under the Gan International Airport development project, he said.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the management of AIA for their efforts in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and other relevant stakeholders to resolve this issue,” he said.

"I would like to highlight that this issue was resolved on the date we requested because of the pressure and cooperation of the people of Addu City, so I humbly thank them [for this]."

Seven rooms in the island hotel's labor quarters had to be vacated to make way for the road. Local reports say Equator Village eventually decided to use a building already in use by the hotel to replace these rooms.

This shift from Equator Village comes after two years of the government trying to negotiate with the hotel. At the time, the hotel which operates the resort, Kaimoo, proposed a USD 25 million dollar compensation and to extend the lease of two other resorts it operates by 50 years.

With these delays, and the risk of additional payments looming over, the government announced that they would abandon the road development component of the project and continue with the rest. With pressure from Addu locals mounting on as well, Kaimoo eventually ceded.

The expansion of the Gan International Airport started in June 2023 funded by India's line of credit worth USD 30 million. It was due to be completed by March this year, but got delayed until November due to various reasons. The project was awarded to Renatus, an Indian contractor.