Nazim: MPL, once financially strong, now has nothing

The Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) had a strong financial capital position between 2015 and the early days of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, but now has nothing, says Parliament’s Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim.

Nazim, the representative for Dhiggaru constituency, made the remark during the debate on Tuesday morning on the MVR 64.2 billion proposed state budget for the upcoming year.

Nazim, who sits in both the Public Accounts Committee and the State-owned Enterprises Committee, said that MPL had once been in robust financial health with a strong bank balance.

But he said its funds have now nearly run out with the MVR 600 million investment on the three residential housing towers for its staff in Hulhumale’ Phase II, and the MVR 100 million investment on land reclamation in Thilafushi.

“The [housing] project began as a contractor financing project. But then the contractor refused to finance it. And then it was converted into an end-user financing project, meaning that the government changed it so the towers were built using loans taken by the company’s staff,” he said.

“They have nothing now. They have no way of running the developmental initiatives they need.”

Nazim said that it is clear from the recent overturning of a landing craft off the Male’ Commercial Port as workers were offloading excavators from a container ship and on to the landing craft – an incident that resulted in the death of two MPL laborers – that the company needs to be making capital investments to make upgrades.

He said that the tragic accident took place because the port lacks the infrastructure to directly offload bulky cargo such as excavators.

He also said that larger ships refuse to dock in Male’ because of the long delays in having cargo offloaded at the port.

Nazim also commended the incumbent administration’s economic policies, which he said were reviving the economy.