Award of airport operation to GMR was not handled well by government: Auditor General

Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim has said that the Senior Financial Agreement included in the government’s agreement to award the operation of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) to Indian company GMR, was not handled well by the government.

Niyaz said this while speaking at the Parliament Committee on Public Accounts, regarding the Special Audit Report on the Airport prepared by the Auditor General in relation to the award of the operation of the airport to GMR by the former government.

“The Finance Ministry did not even have a copy of the Senior Financial Agreement until recently. So the Maldivian government did not handle this well. Before giving a guarantee that could result in such a heavy burden for the government, the government should have perused the Senior Financial Agreement and analysed the numbers,” the Auditor General said.

Responding to questions posed by MPs, Niyaz said that GMR had obtained loans worth $116 million for the development of the airport, for which the Maldivian government was put down as the guarantor, and that GMR’s documents show that the company spent $196 million for the development of the airport.

Niyaz further said that Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) was left in a vulnerable position after the Airport Development Charge (ADC) was deducted from the concession fee.

A presentation by the Audit Office regarding the Audit Report showed that the opportunity to operate the airport was given to GMR because the company agreed to pay a higher amount to the Maldivian government by selling fuel. The presentation also noted that the profit to the State was decreased due to fuel and ADC.