People's National Congress (PNC) candidate Dr. Mohamed Muizzu on Sunday pledged to build a new airport in Thaa Guraidhoo, which lies in the same lagoon as as the Thimarafushi airport.
Campaigning in Guraidhoo, Muizzu listed plans for the island and noted the airport as the most important project.
Muizzu said tourism needs to be expanded in Thaa atoll in order to develop the economy and bring prosperity.
The airport in Guraidhoo will be developed after the reclamation of land needed for the project, he said. Land reclamation will also be carried out for the nearby island of Gaadhiffushi, he added.
Guraidhoo and Gaadhiffushi are in the same lagoon as Thimarafushi. The distance between Guraidhoo and Thimarafushi is 21 kilometers. Muizzu pledged to build an airport in Guraidhoo on one end of the lagoon despite the functioning airport on the other end of the lagoon.
Both Muizzu and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih have also pledged to build a new airport in Vilufushi, which is 20 kilometers from Guraidhoo. Preparations for the project are now underway.
