Maldives National University (MNU) has agreed to conduct the national air cargo study to explore the feasibility of using drones for cargo services in the Maldives.
The agreement was signed by Deputy Chancellor of MNU Dr. Aishath Shehenaz Adam and the Managing Director of Regional Airports Company Limited (RACL) Ahmed Mubeen.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Managing Director Mubeen said the study serves the purpose of assessing the current challenges in delivering medicines and consumer goods and assessing the air cargo needs in the Maldives. He also said that the study is geared towards identifying potential alternatives to enhance and replace the current air cargo services.
Additionally, Mubeen said drone technology is used to provide major air cargo services around the world and the study will also identify ways in which drone technology can be used in the Maldives. He also said if the drone cargo service is to be launched, it will use large drones capable of carrying goods.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chancellor Shehenaz said air cargo is an important service for all sectors of the economy. She clarified that the study would identify the difficulties in providing the service in the Maldives as well as identify the capacity of cargo storage facilities and whether there are arrangements to safely store food items carried by air cargo.
MNU will be interviewing the public during its nationwide study encompassing all the atolls. The first phase will examine the extent of cargo services directly from the city to the islands. In the second phase, the university will assess the level of need to transport locally in the atolls from one place to another.
Vessels and aircraft are commonly used to transport cargo to different parts of the Maldives. The use of drones in providing cargo services will be new to the Maldives while developed countries are already using drones for various services.