First ever Winter Theme Park in Maldives unveiled

Maldivian government Friday night unveiled the “Winter Theme Park” in Rasrani Bageecha, in the capital Male.

President Abdulla Yameen and First Lady Fathmath Ibrahim inaugurated the winter park, which features “snow”, igloos, an ice rink and snow slides. They were accompanied by several children, who got to experience the “first snow in Maldives.”

According to the Ministry of Housing, the winter park was developed with the expertise of Swiss and French engineers. It was primarily designed in France, the ministry claimed.

Parties that are interesting in visiting the park would have to queue a token to purchase an entry ticket, the ministry had said. It has not disclosed the full details of the entrance procedure yet.

Speaking at the inauguration event, housing minister Dr Mohamed Muizzu said that the government aimed to make Rasrani Bageecha amongst the most notable parks in the region.

“President Yameen had highlighted how there are thousands of children in the Maldives that has never experienced snow,” Dr Muizzu explained. “He said that he would like to incorporate that into [this] park somehow.”

The government had European experts overseeing the development of the park to ensure its quality at all times, the minister said.

Since Maldives is a tropical country, he acknowledged that there were challenges in developing the winter theme park; but he quickly said that they were able to find innovative ways to maintain the temperature inside the park before unveiling it to the public.

Further, Dr Muizzu revealed that the government would also be trying to get a champion hockey player to teach Maldivian children ‘winter sports’.

The housing ministry had handed over the operations of the park to local company Diamond Wings. The company would also manage the maintenance expenditures of the new park.

Dr Muizzu had previously revealed that “Winter Theme Park” was key component of the recently revamped park. It is located at the site where the historic mosque ‘Kalhuvakaru Miskiy’ used to be.

The development of the winter park was first announced by President Yameen during the inauguration of the Rasrani Bageecha, formerly known as the 'Sultan Park', last August. He had stated then that the new park would feature a winter corner for children and that “winter will come to the Maldives.”