Hanimaadhoo Airport opens tonight with fireworks

Hanimaadhoo Airport is set to open again tonight ceremoniously after being developed.

The new terminal will be inaugurated by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha.

Special envoy of the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, India's Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu and senior officials from the governments of both Maldives and India will be attending the inauguration of the Hanimaadhoo International Airport.

The ceremony will see the landing of a Maldivian A320 airplane for the first time at Hanimaadhoo Airport tonight at 7:00pm. There will be fireworks for three minutes starting from 8:30pm.

Hanimaadhoo Airport will be operated by MACL.

A cultural item will be presented to officially welcome President Muizzu, First Lady Sajidha and other honorable guests to tonight's ceremony, which will be held in front of the new terminal.

Hanimaadhoo Council President Abdul Sattar Hassan told Mihaaru News today that residents of Hanimaadhoo and neighboring islands will be contributing ceremonial feasts or platters. He also stated that Hanimaadhoo alone will present 43 such ceremonial platters. 

Other islands presenting ceremonial platters include Kulhudhuffushi, Makunudhoo, Kurinbi, Nellaidhoo and Hirimaradhoo.

The Council President stated that in preparation for opening the airport again, MACL had requested residents from the island to clean the inside and outside of the new terminal over the last three days. He said that there are residents who are still cleaning the terminal.

"The residents are coming together and preparing for the ceremony with excitement," said the Council President.

The Hanimaadhoo Airport project; financed through an Indian line of credit and developed by Kalpataru Projects — is one of the largest airport infrastructure projects in Maldives. The project was handed over on September 2022.

It includes a 2.7 km runway, a new terminal capable of handling 1.3 million passengers annually, an air traffic control tower, cargo facilities, and a fuel farm.

The runway, developed to handle the largest airplanes landing and taking off, was completed last year.

The USD 136 million (MVR 2 billion) project is part of India’s USD 800 million Exim Bank line of credit and was launched during the administration of former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.