Modernisation plan of Male airport in eye of political storm

New Delhi: The expansion and modernisation of the Male airport is in the eye of a political storm with some parties in Maldives seeking its nationalisation, even as its top officer said the construction of a new terminal by the GMR-led international consortium is "right on track".
The consortium won the concession to manage, operate and develop Male's Ibrahim Nasir International Airport for 25 years in 2010 to modernise and expand the capacity of the existing terminal and construct a brand new one.
The new terminal, scheduled to open in summer 2014, is "right on track and will be ready for operation on time", airport CEO Andrew Harrison told PTI on phone from Male.
The political storm erupted after some parties demanded that the airport be nationalised once again. The Maldives government has, however, assured that Indian investments will be protected.
The matter also came up during President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik's recent visit to India when he assured Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that Maldives would adhere to all agreements between Indian and its businesses. He had then expressed the desire for more Indian investments in Maldives.
01/07/12 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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Categories: airports Jul 2012, Foreign Jul 2011