The government has unveiled a new plan to develop the Velana International Airport (VIA) on top of the ongoing development project.
The new VIA development plan was launched together with plans for a special economic zone at a ceremony held on Thursday night at the Dharubaaruge convention center.
“A large portion of the project ongoing now to develop VIA will be complete by the end of the year and services to the public will begin. Along with that, 25 percent more jobs will be created at MACL [Maldives Airports Company Ltd], that is about 1,000 jobs,” MACL Managing Director Ibrahim Shareef Mohamed said at the event.
Components of new plan
- New terminal capable of serving 25 million passengers (terminal currently under development has capacity for seven million passengers)
- New domestic terminal with capacity to serve 2,000 passengers an hour (current capacity is 300 passengers per hour)
- Separate terminal for private jets
- Separate terminal for low-cost carries or budget airlines with capacity to serve 1,000 passengers an hour
- Expanding and developing seaplane facilities (relocating existing terminal to another island to be connected to the airport)
- Increasing fuel capacity up to 100 million litres
- Establishing a brand new MRO facility
- Expanding cargo terminal from 100,000 to 300,000 metric tons
- Expanding aircraft parking capacity from 34 to 73
Arrangements have been made and a task force needed to carry out the work in line with the new plan has been set up, Shareef said. He did not disclose the financing required for the new plan.
The current VIA development project began in May 2016. Most of the work on the large new terminal part of the project was carried out and changed to the current design by the previous government.
