Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) on Sunday revealed that it has consulted Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) regarding the handover of the newly built seaplane terminal at Velana International Airport (VIA).
Speaking at the Parliamentary Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (SOE), MACL's Acting Managing Director Moosa Solih stated that ACC's advice was sought to ascertain whether to comply with the directives set forth by the Ministry of Finance.
"We are currently waiting for a response. As soon as they do, we will hand over the contracts", said Solih.
Amidst the ongoing debate over MACL's prickly decision to lease 31,000 square meters of the terminal to Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) well below the market price, at a rate of USD 10.35 per square meter, for a period of 15 years, the administration has directed MACL's board to lease 6,400 square meters for a period of two years to TMA instead.
In response to a question posed by the Committee Chair and representative for Addu City’s Hulhudhoo constituency MP Ilyas Labeeb, in which he probed the MACL Chief whether ACC had halted government directives, Solih noted that no such actions were taken by ACC and that the watchdog was contacted by MACL's own volition.
According to the audit conducted as per instructions from the parliament's Public Finance Committee, the controversial deal would have resulted in an annual loss of MVR 41 million to the state.
During February, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer warned that the board of MACL could be shuffled if it did not execute the main airport's new seaplane terminal deal as per the administration's directive.
The newly constructed seaplane terminal cost the government USD 55 million to complete.
TMA currently manages a fleet of 50 seaplanes that operate regular flights throughout the Maldives, making it the largest seaplane operator in the world.
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