Ibrahim Shareef, the Managing Director of Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), has stated that the previous government postponed initiating operations at the newly completed cargo terminal despite its completion long ago.
At the new VIA cargo terminal inauguration ceremony, Managing Director Shareef said that the development of the cargo terminal was technically completed in 2022 but that the previous government did not give any priority to commencing operations. He highlighted that postponing the use of such critical facilities is a waste of public funds.
Additionally, Shareef said that upon assuming office, the new administration aimed to transfer cargo services and open the new cargo terminal as soon as possible. He added that the new airport management has completed the work within 27 days due to the hard work of the MACL employees. He expects the new cargo terminal will solve the difficulties in providing cargo services.
The newly inaugurated cargo terminal has a capacity to handle 120,000 tonnes of cargo per year. The cargo terminal is two times larger than the old cargo terminal used at the airport, which handled 50,000 tonnes of cargo per year.