Herethera bidding procedure amended to not allow previous managements to submit bid

Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has said today that the bidding procedure for Herethera Island has been amended such that a company that has previously managed the island will not be able to participate in the new bidding process.

Managing Director of MTDC Mohamed Matheen told Sun Online today that it is not right to assign the island’s management to a company who has previously failed at the task and that the company’s board has now decided that such a company will not have the opportunity to participate in the new bidding process.

“It is not justifiable to give the opportunity to a party which has previously failed at the task. It should not happen like that. We have now amended the bidding criteria so that such a party will not be able to participate in the bidding process,” said Matheen.

Yacht Tours Maldives has announced that they will bid for Herethera again. The company has previously faced major problems managing the island and MTDC had retracted the island from Yacht Tours. A Thailand company named ONYX Hospitality Group has also attempted to manage the island. The company too had returned the island to MTDC not long after assuming operations.

The island is currently operated by MTDC. The company has called for submission of bids for the management of the island on two previous occasions. However, a small number of parties showed interest. Matheen said that the Herethera pre-bid meeting was held yesterday and that two parties had shown interest, but none has yet bought the bidding document.