Minister of Tourism Dr. Abdulla Mausoom has stated that Hanimaadhoo International Airport is expected to bring in 300 tourists per day in its first year of development.
The development of Hanimaadhoo Airport is the largest project being conducted to develop the northernmost region of the Maldives. The government expects fieldwork to begin in December.
Speaking at the Parliament, Minister Mausoom said six resorts will be opened in the northernmost atolls of Haa Alifu Atoll and Haa Dhaalu Atoll in the next three years and that there will be enough tourist beds by the time Hanimaadhoo Airport is developed. He detailed that 1,724 tourist beds have been registered by resorts, hotels, and guesthouses in Haa Alifu Atoll, Haa Dhaalu Atoll, and Shaviyani Atoll and that 1,524 beds are now in operation.
Additionally, Minister Mausoom said four new resorts will be open in the next two years as part of the first phase of tourism development in Haa Dhaalu Atoll and that tourist beds in the region will reach 3,700 beds in the next three years. He added that the development of hotels in Kelaa, Utheemu, and Vashafaru in Haa Alifu Atoll will add 404 new beds.
The project to redevelop Hanimaadhoo International Airport has been awarded to JMC Projects at a cost of USD136 million. The project is being funded by loan assistance from the EXIM Bank of India and includes major infrastructure and operational upgrades and building infrastructure to meet the future growth of traffic to the Maldives. It includes developing a 2.46km runway to enable larger aircraft such as Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s to land at the airport. It also includes the construction of a modern terminal to accommodate 1.3 million passengers annually, as well as the construction of a cargo terminal, fuel farms, and a fire station.