As the state owned Funaddu Fish Factory was announced for sale by Bank of Maldives (BML) due to a loan payment failure to BML by a private company, the factory has been handed over to a private company, renovated and is undergoing preparations to be opened in December, said the Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Ocean Resources Ahmed Shiyam.

While answering a question posed by Maavah Constituency MP Mohamed Shakir during today's Parliament sitting, the minister said that Funaddu has been handed over to a private company to begin operations, with the company giving its assurance that the purchasing of fish will begin by Fisherman's Day this year.

"Thaa Atoll Funaddu has a history of fishery activities. Even so, it fell to a state of disrepair. We have handed it over to a private company in order to bring Funaddu to an operable state," said Shiyam.

Even though it was announced that Funaddu had been handed over to a private company, it is unclear which company it is.

During former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's government, Fisheries Minister at the time Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan was asked a question from an MP in 2022 as to why operations at Funaddu had not begun even after it was bought for MIFCO. He stated at the time that an expense of USD 10.2 million (MVR 157.3 million) was required to start up the factory.

MIFCO's Managing Director Mohamed Anas told Mihaaru News today that even though Funaddu was purchased for MIFCO during the previous government, the island itself was under the purview of the Fisheries Ministry.

Funaddu, which was run down to the point of not being able to be used when the government purchased it, is an island near Th. Thimarafushi. BML took the island back after Funaddu Tuna Products Private Limited had mortgaged it and was unable to pay back a loan to BML. Central Henveiru Constituency MP Ali Azim and Kinbidhoo Constituency MP Mohamed Nashiz, both MPs during the 19th Parliament, were shareholders of the company.