Muizzu: Works that need completion alongside terminal yet to be contracted

President elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu states important facilities that need to be completed alongside Velana International Airport (VIA)’s new terminal have not been contracted yet.

Muizzu toured VIA on Sunday evening to inspect the progress of the developmental projects underway at the airport. He was accompanied by Vice President Elect Hussain Mohamed Latheef, Director General of Transition Abdul Raheem Abdulla and senior members of transitional committees.

Speaking to the press after inspecting the progress of work on the new terminal – Muozzu said facilities that must absolutely be completed alongside the airport’s new terminal do not fall within the scope of work of Saudi’s Binladin group undertaking the terminal project.

“Have taken note of this. For example, the service road which links all these operations. The development of the road has not been contracted. It is also one of the most important projects. One of the main targets is to develop this road. It will take approximately 10 months to complete physical works,” he said.

In addition to this, Muozzu said the development of the duty-free area has not been contacted which is an integral component once the terminal is operationalized. Alongside this, he underscored that expansion of the apron and arrival terminal components have also not been contracted. Moreover, he said work needs to be undertaken to increase parking space.

“Therefore, apron extension needs to be contracted to a party. The completion of the aforesaid area needs to be awarded too. Need to arrange for all these works to be carried out parallelly and need to arrange additional funding, if lacking. I have confidence that we can reach the target by making this project our top priority and working collaborative,” he said.

Prior to this, Muizzu pledged to prioritize the completion of VIA’s expansion and make the new developments operational by the commencement of next year’s peak tourism season.

While speaking to the press on Sunday, he reiterated that the airport project will be the incoming administration’s top priority.

“This project will become a project we will see the completion to after commencing works from the day we assume office, as a top priority,” he said.

“A challenge, but not unattainable”

Speaking further, Muizzu said the contractor had specified 2025 as the estimated date of completion of the project today, as per the date on the scope of the work.

However, he emphasized that fitting the work of an additional 10 months into the span of next year will be required in order to reach his target.

“I want to expedite the project by eight months at least. Eight months minimum. Although it is a challenge, it is not unattainable. Whether it is with respect to funding, engineering, project management, or any other aspect, it can be achieved. I have full confidence in this,” he said.

The new terminal, which is among the most expensive projects initiated at VIA, was contracted to Saudi’s Binladin Group for approximately MVR 5.3 billion.