Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer has revealed the funding required for reclamation of land to develop Male' Commercial Port in Gulhifalhu has been included in the State Budget for 2020.
Minister Ameer said Male' Commercial Port has not seen proper developments in the past 30 years, especially in spatial planning and infrastructure, regardless of the influx of imports and the gradual economic development over the past years. He said this has caused clearance, movement and storage of goods very challenging for businesses.
Minister Ameer said the development of Male' Commercial Port in Gulhifalhu will revolutionise the entire systems of import, export in addition to clearance, movement and storage of goods. He further said the port in Gulhifalhu will have the capacity to dock the biggest cargo ships used in international shipping routes allowing the dependency on feeder boats to freight goods to Maldives. He noted this will allow businesses to cut costs in shipping. He assured the reclamation project will start this year.
The proposed State Budget for 2020 intends to develop infrastructure for economic development activities including development of the passenger terminal in Velana International Airport (VIA) in addition to the development project of Male' Sea Port.
The development of Male' Commercial Port in Gulhifalhu is expected to solve various challenges caused due to limited capacity in catering to the needs of the resident population as well as the increasing number of visitors in the country.