Tourism Minister: SEZ Act gives government legal power to attract foreign investment

Minister of Tourism Ahmed Adheeb has said that with the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act, the government now has the legal power required to attract foreign investment.

Adheeb made this remark while speaking at a forum on SEZ, shown on TVM on Wednesday evening.

“Until now, no government had this power. Through this law we have gained the power to hold negotiations to attract one, or two billion dollar investments to the Maldives. Now, for example, we can plan $1.3 billion or $1.5 billion dollar investments for Ihavandhippolhu [atoll]. We can present the incentives, the packages,” said Adheeb.

The Tourism Minister said that the announcement once a year of the projects planned for the year, as required by the SEZ Act, would be a ‘strong message’ for investors.

He said that the determination of the Special Economic Zones would facilitate economic growth for the atolls that have fallen behind in terms of development; and that under this concept, the benefits of just one project in one region, would be seen across the country.