Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer has said that the passenger terminal at Velana International Airport (VIA) will be completed by next year.
Speaking on the development of the passenger terminal at VIA, Minister Ameer said the project had come to a halt when the current government took over. He said the government is undertaking a major project to increase the capacity of VIA which serves hundreds of passengers daily. As such, the government recently inaugurated the newly developed runway and the seaplane terminal.
The project to develop the passenger terminal was initially contracted to the Bin Laden Group of Saudi Arabia in May 2016. However, the project was put on hold due to different reasons before Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) renewed the contract with Bin Laden Group in June 2019. The project, which involves the construction of a 78,000sqm terminal, costs USD 357 million. MACL said the interior and exterior design of the terminal will incorporate cultural aspects of the Maldives. The new terminal is designed to cater to 7 million passengers per year, up from the current capacity of serving 1.5 million passengers.