Airport assets will not be handed over to new company: MACL

Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has said that the assets of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport will not be handed over to the company newly established by the government.

Managing Director of the company Dr Ibrahim Mahfooz told Sun Online that the new company, Male’ International Airport Company (MIAL), will only be responsible of the operation of the airport.

He said that the assets of the airport will remain with MACL.

Finance Minister Abdullah Jihad also said last week that the airport, despite being operated by the new company, will be owned by MACL.

He said that a decision in this regard will be made once the case filed for arbitration by GMR is concluded.

“When the operation of the airport is handed over to the new company, the staff will also be transferred to the new company. However an agreement will be signed to officially hand over the operation of the assets,” said Jihad.

Dr Mahfooz said that their target since they took over the operation of the airport had been to generate an income of MVR 1 billion by the end of 2013.

He said that the target was revised to MVR 1.1 billion after income was recorded at MVR 305 million at the end of the first quarter.

MACL has said that the two main contributors to income are trade of jet fuel and profit from duty free shops.

MACL terminated its agreement with GMR in November last year. MACL made zero profit last year, and instead was asked to pay $2.2 million to GMR.