CHANGI Airport Group (CAG) on Monday inked an agreement with the Maldives Airport Company Ltd (MACL) to help expand and develop the country’s Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.
MACL managing director, Ibrahim Bandhu Ibrahim Saleem, said the expansion will enable the airport to accommodate 9.6 million passengers by 2030, up from the current 2.5-2.6 million.
Saleem added the expansion and commercialisation of the airport is a strategic initiative that will support the fast-growing tourism industry as well as expansion of trade activity.
“We believe CAG will be able to bring world-class planning and operating experience to the Maldives and support MACL in the successful delivery of this important milestone,” he said at the ceremony.
Local media reports in Male cited CAG’s CEO, Lim Liang Song, as saying: “We will give the best advice on practices and processes – the airport has to be moved by the emotions and vision of the government as well as MACL.”
In late 2012, the government cancelled a management and operation contract with India’s GMR due to a dispute over concessions.
The Maldives is expanding its regional airports, currently numbering 10, with some being upgraded to international status. The country received 1.3 million tourists last year.
