Govt seeks to terminate agreements for 22 islands leased for resort development

Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal told the Parliament on Wednesday that he has asked Attorney General Ahmed Usham for legal counsel regarding terminating agreements for 22 islands leased for tourism due to lack of work.

Faisal, who was summoned by the Parliament for questioning on Wednesday, made the remark in response to a question by South Maafannu MP Abdulla Rifau (Bochey).

Rifau noted that there haven’t been any work done on several islands leased for tourism, years after they were leased. He questioned Faisal regarding the reasons for lack of work on such islands, and the concessions granted by the government for such projects.

Faisal responded that there are 58 such islands, some of which were leased as far back as 30 years ago.

He said that the Tourism Ministry has met with such lessees.

According to Faisal, the main concern shared by local lessees was barriers to accessing finance to develop the islands.

“From what we were able to see, the main challenge is the lack of an investment bank in the Maldives. The local banks in Maldives do not have the capacity to issue loans to them to develop these islands,” he said.

Faisal said that the Development Bank of Maldives (DBM), which received its license from the central bank last week, will alleviate these challenges once it begins operations.

He said that the Tourism Ministry is working to resolve the existing challenges, including linking lessees with potential investors.

Faisal also added that some of the islands owe a huge amount in accumulated interest, and cannot be developed and introduced to the market unless the government provides concessions on payments.

While Faisal said that the Tourism Ministry has sought legal counsel from the Attorney General to terminate the lease agreements for 22 islands, he did not specify the islands.