Saeed: Not some birthright of critics to derail national projects

Minister of Economic Development, Mohamed Saeed has remarked it wasn’t “some birthright of critics” to derail initiatives to develop the nation.

Minister Saeed made the remark during his speech at ceremony held this Monday morning to launch construction of the new runway in Velana International Airport.

It’s believed the “critics” Minister Saeed referred to in his remark is opposition politicians.

Minister Saeed said that there were those who resented development to Maldives, both inside

and outside the country.

He said that President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration paid no heed to it, focusing instead on providing prosperity to the Maldivian people.

“…That bridge building, runway construction and terminal construction isn’t development… To those who criticize saying this… What I have to say is it isn’t some birthright of yours to stop national initiatives, to stop investments from coming into the country. It’s the national and birthright of the children of Maldives to have their dreams of development to the country colored with reality. Almighty Allah has blessed us with an honest leader to carry this out,” said Minister Saeed.

Minister Saeed said approximately MVR 1.8 billion had been spent on the airport since President Yameen took office. He said the money did not come from any bank loan, but was an investment from a 100 percent Maldivian company.

He said that when President Yameen took office, the runway was unable to accommodate modern aircrafts which meant the aircrafts which the airport was able to accommodate had to be downgraded.

He said that President Yameen repaired the runway, and was now building a new one.

“This runway will be a bridge between Maldives and other countries. It will be a link to the outside world. This runway will open the path to sustainable tourism in Maldives. Maldives is an exemplary tourism destination,” said Minister Saeed.

He said that once the overall development of Velana International Airport was complete, it would be one of the best airports in the world.

The new runway will be 3,400 meters long and 60 meters wide. It will have six layers, and will be able to accommodate A 380 aircrafts.

Construction of the runway was contracted to Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) for USD 400 million; USD 373 million of which is funded through loan assistance from China.