Hankede to be opened for tourism after assessment

The Tourism Ministry has announced that Hankede in Addu Atoll will be opened for tourism after an Economic and Environmental Assessment of the island is conducted.

The Tourism Minister stated so in a news conference held yesterday and stated that since the agreement to develop Hankede was terminated on January 31, the case had been filed in court. The Minister stated that Hankede was "liberated" by the court.

The Minister noted that developing a resort on the island had been the hope of many people in Addu city for a long time. The agreement of Hankede was terminated by the ministry on the advice it received from the attorney general in the matter. The ministry will release Hankede for tourism purposes after an Environment and Economic assessment was conducted. An announcement for a party to conduct these assessments has also been made by the ministry.

Hankede was given to a private company named Thoondu Private Limited in 2006 to develop a city hotel. That agreement was terminated due to no work being carried out on the project and the island was once again given to another company named Half Degree in 2008, which yielded the same results. After that, the island was given to a company named Dollarton Private Limited in 2011. The island once again changed hands in 2013 to a Singapore company that finally released plans to develop a five or four-star hotel on the island. 

Hankede is very much related to the tourism industry of Addu city and the prolonged failure to develop the island has become a worrisome case for the people of Addu City. Hankede is an uninhabited island located in the middle of Maradhoo and Hithadhoo in Addu city.