The new terminal of the Velana International Airport (VIA) was opened on Sunday night with an extravagant drone and fireworks display.
The new terminal project was launched during the administration of former President Abdulla Yameen and most of the work had been completed during the administration of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
Construction of the new terminal began on May 22, 2016. The work was awarded to Saudi Arabia's Bin Laden Group for USD 350 million and was scheduled to be completed by 2019.
But only the piling works were completed when Yameen failed in his re-election bid and the new Solih administration took over in 2018. The government resumed work in 2019 with a new design for the terminal.
With the changes to the design, the total project is USD 438 million.
The new terminal, which was inaugurated by President Mohamed Muizzu, is 72,000 square meters and will be able to serve 7.2 million tourists annually.
One of the most distinctive features of the new terminal is the passenger boarding bridges. The new terminal has a total of 12 passenger boarding bridges.
The automatic baggage system is also new to the Maldives. The system is capable of separating passenger classes and the baggage of different flights.
