President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has designated Maldives Industrial Development Free Zone Public Limited as the master developer for the Maldives Economic Gateway Integrated Project in the northernmost Ihavandhipolhu Atoll. He made the decision following the Cabinet's deliberations on a paper submitted by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. The project focuses on maritime services, economic security, real estate, and tourism.
At a press conference, Principal Secretary to the President on Public Policy Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim said the development of Ihavandhipolhu will be carried out with modern facilities for integrated tourism. He also said that Ihavandhipolhu will be developed as the Maldives Economic Gateway.
Additionally, Nazim said the Cabinet has decided to designate the Maldives Industrial Development Free Zone as the master developer of the project. He said that the development rights for the project area will be given to the company. He also said that it was also decided that the project implementation area would be declared a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with integrated tourism facilities.
The Maldives Industrial Development Free Zone was established to engage in large-scale importation of goods from neighbouring countries and employ a re-export system to optimise profits. The company is a collaborative venture of five state-affiliated companies, namely the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), Maldives Ports Limited (MPL), State Trading Organisation Public Limited (STO), Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), and Housing Development Corporation (HDC). The Cabinet also decided that the company would approach the Board of Investment seeking permission to set up free trade zones.