Regarding Savaaheli, an island near the Addu Feydhoo Tourism Zone which the government recently excluded from Addu City Council's jurisdiction, Feydhoo City Mayor Ali Nizar has stated that if it is not developed, it will cause significant losses to the zone.
Nizar said this on a video posted on social media yesterday, stating that as the law has been amended so that Savaaheli cannot be released in order to conduct tourism efforts, a letter was sent to the President's Office in May 2025 to be granted special permission to do so.
The mayor said there has been no response to the letter, and the government's decision to remove Savaaheli from the council's jurisdiction on Wednesday after the council announced a bidding process to establish recreational facilities at the island on 19th July is deeply concerning.
Nizar went on to say some parties have bought bid documents for the development of Savaaheli as a recreational facility.
"We received information from the government, which is that this was done by the President upon the request of Addu MPs," said Nizar while speaking about Savaaheli being removed from Addu City Council's jurisdiction.
According to the mayor, if the government does not begin tourism development efforts in Savaaheli, it will disrupt guesthouse operations in Feydhoo, which are currently under preparation.
Nizar believes the development of the Feydhoo Tourism Zone and Savaaheli should be done at the same time.
He stated that if it is not done in such a manner, Addu's tourism activities will decline once more.
He continued by saying that as around 400 rooms are nearing completion in the Feydhoo Tourism Zone, 1,000 rooms will be completed by 2028.
As per Nizar, Addu City Council made an announcement in April 2025 to make use of Savaaheli for tourism efforts. However, because of the amendment and gazetting that the President can be the only one who can announce tourism efforts in inhabited islands, the development of Savaaheli for tourism was temporarily stopped.
The government said Savaaheli was removed from Addu City Council's jurisdiction for tourism purposes. However, no details have been shared.
Mayor Nizar said as the government has not conducted any efforts to develop Addu's tourism and in expanding economic activities in the last three years, the government has been obstructing the city council's efforts.
