Muthalib: 88 percent of Hanimaadhoo airport complete; full completion by September

Minister of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure Dr. Abdulla Muthalib states 88.7 percent of Hanimaadhoo International Airport is complete, adding the project remains on track for completion by this September.

The airport’s development is funded by a USD 800 million line of credit issued from EXIM Bank, India, under an agreement executed between the Maldivian government and the bank in 2019.

The project, which is directly linked to the hopes of northern Maldivians, will see the development of a 42,000 square feet apron, a 2,400-meter runway, a 10,500 square feet passenger terminal and a 3,800 square feet air traffic control tower alongside an arm and fuel jetty. The passenger terminal can accommodate up to 1.3 million passengers per annum.

Muthalib, via a post on X on Tuesday, shared the latest updates on the project. In this regard, he detailed that the project’s overall progress stands at 88.7 percent. The runway construction is fully completed, the passenger terminal is 83 percent complete, while the air traffic control tower, hangar, and cargo building are 96 percent complete.

The development of Hanimaadhoo International Airport, financed through the India Exim Bank Line of Credit, remains on track for completion by September 2025. The overall progress stands at 88.7%, with runway construction fully completed. The passenger terminal has reached 83%… pic.twitter.com/vLbXd5NnDs

— Abdulla Muththalib (@muththo) July 1, 2025

Although there are numerous resorts and guesthouses in northern Maldives, their most pertinent concern if the fact that they have to rely on Male’ for their travel requirements.

If tourists were to travel from Male’ to northern islands including Hanimaadhoo, the cost of their air fare would cover one week’s stay in a guesthouse near Male’. This is one of the reasons behind the low demand for resorts and guesthouses in northern atolls.

This issue is expected to be resolved once the international airport being developed at Hanimadhoo is completed and operationalized.

The development of Hanimaadhoo international airport was contracted to India’s JMC Projects for USD 136.6 million. The company has extensive experience in engineering and construction.

Hanimaadhoo Airport, developed during former president Maumoon Abdulla Gayyoom’s administration, had initially been utilized only for domestic operations. It was changed to an international airport in 2012. However, the airport’s only international operations were weekly flights to India’s Trivandrum.