The Committee of the Whole House has passed the proposed amendment to the Tourism Act. The amendment stipulates that the repayment period of an island or land taken for tourism purposes period should be extended by six months, if the lease period is extended.
The proposed amendment to the act was introduced to the parliament by Parliamentarian Abdulla Rasheed. The bill aims to provide investors with the opportunity to extend the lease period of islands and land taken for tourism development. Under the current tourism act, if an investor were to extend the lease period a one-time extension fee of USD 10 million must be paid. It also stipulates that USD 200,000 must be paid for each year of the extension.
However, the proposed amendment to the Act requires payment for an extension within six months of the bill's passage. If the party agrees to this, the payment shall be two-thirds of the current rate. As such, one-time extension fee would be reduced to USD five million and the and the pay each additional year would be reduced to USD 100,000.
Speaking on the amendment, Parliamentarians noted that the amendment would facilitate the opportunity for many investors who want to extend their lease. The amendment is supported by the parliamentarians of the opposition as well. The parliamentarians express that this is an important amendment that needs to be passed as soon as possible.
After the introduction and the debate on the proposed amendment act, the bill was approved by the vote of 75 parliamentarians. It was then referred to the Committee of the Whole House for further review and was passed by the committee without any amendments.