President Muizzu ratifies amendment to tourism Act granting extensions for unfinished projects

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu today ratified an amendment to the Tourism Act that allows the government to grant extensions to parties who failed to complete the development of tourist land plots, islands, and lagoons within the initially agreed upon deadline.

The ratified amendment, which includes several major changes to the Tourism Act, stipulates that if a party leasing land, an island, or a lagoon for tourism purposes fails to complete and open the facility within the agreed-upon deadline, the Minister of Tourism will have the authority to grant an extension.

This extension will be provided according to the rules set out in a regulation drafted under the Tourism Act.

This change was introduced by adding two new sub-articles, (6-1) and (6-2), below Article (6) of the Tourism Act.

The amendment also reiterates a previous change made in March to Article 9(k) of the Tourism Act, which allows for the extension of the lease period for islands initially leased for 50 years.

The previous amendment allowed for a 20-year extension upon payment of a USD 2.5 million fee, a 25-year extension for USD 3 million, and a 49-year extension for a fee of USD 5 million, provided the payment was made within six months of the previous amendment's enactment.

The current amendment effectively resets the clock for these extensions. It changes the payment deadline from "within six months from the date of the 15th amendment's enactment" to "within six months from the date of the 16th amendment's enactment."

In both amendments, the fee paid for the extension can be divided into 12 monthly installments.