Investigations on GMR issue can be concluded by February: Auditor General

The Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim has said that they will be able to conclude investigations on the award ofthe management of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) to GMR, by February 2013.

In an interview to Sun Online, the Auditor General said that they are working very diligently to determine if the agreement was made according to the law and in a manner that would not result in losses for the government.He also said that an expert from the UK will be assisting them on the case starting this month.

“We are working at a good pace. If there are no interruptions, we can finish the work by February. We would like to highlight though, that we’re having difficulties obtaining information from certain sources,” said the Auditor General.

He said that they have not yet received some documents from the Finance Ministry and some other sources, which poses challenges for the investigation.

The government has criticized the Auditor General and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for the delays in the GMR investigation.

The government cancelled the 25-year agreement with GMR and said that the agreement would result in huge losses for the Maldivian government. The airport is now being managed by Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL).