The exploration of oil and minerals has been officially added to the list of economic activities permitted within Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the Maldives.
Under the Special Economic Zones Act, the President is vested with the authority to determine the specific economic activities allowed in such zones. President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu last specified these activities and the minimum investment requirements in January of last year.
In the decree issued by the President at that time, only gas-related activities were included in this category of work within SEZs.
However, in the decree issued by the President today, oil, gas, and mineral exploration activities have now been added. No changes were made in today’s decree to the other activities previously listed as permissible in SEZs.
Permissible activities in SEZs:
- Various types of manufacturing focused on exports.
- Transshipment ports, international logistics, ports, airports, bulk breaking, bunkering, and docking services.
- Universities, tertiary hospitals, specialty hospitals, and world-class research and development facilities.
- World-class Information Communication Technology (ICT) parks and ICT-related facilities.
- International financial services and international trade centers.
- Efforts to introduce technologies not currently available in the Maldives.
- Oil, gas, and mineral exploration activities.
In addition to determining the permissible activities, the President also sets the minimum investment threshold for such projects. In both the decree issued last year and the one issued today, the minimum investment amount remains set at 100 million dollars for all activities, with the exception of sustainable township development.
The minimum investment required for a sustainable township is 500 million dollars.
While a study was conducted during the administration of former President Abdulla Yameen to explore whether oil could be found in the Maldives, that effort was not successful.
Furthermore, there are no prior records of any work being undertaken to explore the presence of minerals in the Maldives.
