An aerial view of the current Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in the Maldives
A NEW passenger terminal will be built at the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport by the Saudi Bin Ladin Group (SBG). Scheduled for completion in 2018, the new terminal will increase the airport’s handling capacity to more than seven million passengers, up from the current three million.
The contract for the new terminal was inked between managing director of Maldives Airports Company Adhil Moosa and SBG representative Abdul Aziz Bin Laden last Sunday. Singapore’s Surbana International has been appointed as the consultant to the project.
Moosa unveiled during the signing ceremony that the 78,000m2 terminal will have 40 departure gates, 38 immigration counters, 12 shaded jetties, six aero bridges (which can be converted to four bridges), a state- of-the-art baggage screening and an explosives detection system.
Last month, president Abdulla Yameen unveiled an ambitious plan to develop the country’s main international airport, including a 65m-wide runway, with US$800 million worth of foreign loans.
