The previous government rejected a proposal from the Pan Pacific Company that was chosen by the current government to develop an international airport in Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo due to the lack of details and inability to confirm the company’s financial capacity, records have shown.
Documents obtained by Adhadhu show that the proposal was submitted to the economic council on July 31, 2023, along with a request for an offshore financing license.
Details of the proposal
The company proposed developing an airport with the world’s largest overwater passenger terminal and a 3.2 kilometer runway after reclaiming the Thinadhoo lagoon. According to the proposal, 24 seaplane docks as well as a VIP and private jet terminal with spacious parking would be built. Four aircraft maintenance hangers at the airport and a flying school with simulators were also part of the proposal.
Moreover, the project was to be carried out within a special economic zone (SEZ) and the development of 12 resorts was included in the overall investment. The airport would be connected to Thinadhoo via a bridge, the proposal stated. Ferry terminals and private jetties would also be built, it added.
Offshore financing and seaport
In the proposal, the company also included the development of a transshipment port next to the Thinadhoo airport. The port would offer storage, warehousing, repackaging and re-exporting services, it stated. A high-end technology park would also be developed, according to the proposal.
The most striking aspect of the proposal was the request for an offshore financing license. It would be used to provide the service to foreign parties, the proposal stated.
The proposal did not include any details. Each of the developments in Pan Pacific’s first proposal was covered in a few sentences. It lacked the quality expected of a proposal from a multi-million dollar company.
Inability to assess financial capability
As the proposal lacked details, the previous government’s economic council requested documents related to the company’s experience and financial capability.
A reference letter signed by Pan Pacific’s chairman was then submitted under the letterhead of a different company. The letter claimed ties between Pan Pacific’s chairman and Thailand’s transport minister who developed the country’s largest airport. The transport minister had been an advisor to former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the letter stated.
A letter dated July 19, 2023, with the letterhead of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank was also submitted, claiming a balance of USD 84,250,181.25 in Pan Pacific’s account at the bank.
However, the economic council at the time could not verify the authenticity of the letter, according to the documents, which also showed that efforts to locate the company online had been unsuccessful.
Therefore, the government did not give the green light for the project due to the lack of clarity over the proposed business model and the company’s finances.
When Adhadhu dug into the company’s past, links were uncovered between Pan Pacific and companies that only conducted environment impact assessments (EIAs) to carry out “mega projects” in the Maldives. The company was found to have used the Maldives name for advertising to raise funds.
It is unclear which proposal the current government accepted in signing a deal with the company. Information has not been disclosed.
