A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
There is no threat of a terror attack on tourists visiting the Maldives, the tourism minister has said, after the United States cautioned its citizens over travelling to the popular holiday destination. Moosa Zameer told Mihaaru the Maldives regarded the safety of tourists with the utmost importance, adding there was no information to indicate a […]
The United States has cautioned its citizens over travelling to the Maldives amid concerns of possible terror attacks. “Terrorist groups may conduct attacks with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls and local government facilities. Attacks may occur on remote islands which could lengthen the response time,” warned the US State […]
The tourism ministry has added a plot of land from the capital to the list of properties up for long-term lease without any bidding process. The land is estimated to be 19,343 square feet with an acquisition cost of MVR1.4 million (US$90,800). Parliament authorised the government to lease islands for tourism development without any competitive […]
Photo: @presidencymv The anti-graft watchdog wants to stop the handover of a project to a Chinese company over corruption complaints. Hassan Manik, information officer of the Anti-Corruption Commission, confirmed to the Maldives Independent that the watchdog was looking into complaints. The investigation is at the evaluation stage, he said, but declined to elaborate. Donfang Electric […]
The revenue authority is suing Jumhooree Party leader Gasim Ibrahim’s Villa Shipping group for the recovery of unpaid taxes and fines worth MVR75 million (US$4.8 million). The new lawsuit comes as the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) and several Villa Group companies remain entrenched in a lawsuit filed by MIRA to recover more than MVR2.5 […]
Photo: Mihaaru The education ministry has contracted a technology company to purchase 71,000 tablets for a programme to digitise the schools of the Maldives. According to Mihaaru, the contract was awarded to Maxcom Technologies, a Maldivian company specialising in the retail of technology services. State Minister of Education, Ahmed Shafeeu, told Mihaaru that the ministry […]
More than 10,000 jobs will be created for local youths from a resort mega project, the tourism minister has said. Moosa Zameer made the remarks in an interview with state media PSM on Tuesday regarding Emboodhoo Lagoon, SunOnline reported. The first phase of the project will reclaim three islands for resort development and will be […]
An international airport in the Northern Noonu atoll Maafaru is a “gift” from the United Arab Emirates, President Yameen said Sunday. A contract to build the airport has not yet been awarded as bids are still being evaluated, work has not started and the project was announced almost a decade ago. “The airport is a […]
The number of Chinese holidaymakers visiting the Maldives increased in November for the first time in three years. Some 21,195 Chinese tourists were recorded during the month, up 11.8 percent from November 2016, according to statistics released Tuesday by the tourism ministry. However, a total of 286,612 Chinese arrivals as of November represented a seven percent decline […]