President Mohamed Solih mentioned this during a campaign
event in the morning of the 17th of March. Solih announced that the company
which is currently developing the airport which can currently accommodate
Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircrafts wants to enlarge the airport so it can accommodate
the largest passenger aircrafts in the world, the Airbus A380.
The company which is contracted is a Singaporean company,
Tuff Offshore, and uses a USD 60 million in non-reimbursable financial aid
awarded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).
The Maafaru Airport project has been on hold since the first
test flight landed at the airport on the 18th of August 2018, during
the presidential campaign.
"Today, the developer wants to further enlarge the airport.
As you know, the current length of the airport is 2,200 meters. They want to
enlarge it by a further 1,000 meters and make it an airport which is able to accommodate
A380 aircrafts the worlds largest aircrafts. We welcome this," said Solih.
President Solih asks for the cooperation of the Maafaru
Council, as well as the cooperation of the citizens of Maafaru to finish the project.
He also quotes, "We need to seize some of the few residences
near the airport. A few residences. But we have decided to do this by awarding
a good compensation. So what the citizens of Maafaru can do is, to do the
things necessary to make this airport the largest airport in Maldives."
He said that, once the airport was complete, it would be the
largest and the most modern airport in Maldives.
Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Aishath Nahula has travelled to Abu Dhabi for negotiations regarding the Maafru Airport Project, with ADFD on January 10th, 2019.
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