Author: JJ Robinson

“Kill me before you kill a fellow Maldivian”: President condemns calls for religious violence

“Kill me before you kill a fellow Maldivian,” President Mohamed Nasheed has said, after several slogans calling for the “slaughter of anyone against Islam” were published yesterday on a website calling for a religious protest on December 23.

The organisers of the protest yesterday removed the slogans calling for murder, attributing them to “a mistake on the technical teams’ side.”

The website, 23December.com, this morning appeared to have been targeted by hackers, replaced with green skulls and the statement “We’ll come out against you with machetes if you protest.”

The original site promoting the protest is now back up at the domain.

Speaking at a Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) rally last night, President Nasheed promised that should the protests target Maldivians, “The government and MDP will come out in defence of the people. We’ll not come out on the streets with the defence forces but with bare hands. No one can confront us on these streets,” Nasheed was reported as saying.

His statements followed an attack on Saturday against a group of ‘silent protesters’ on the Artificial Beach calling for religious tolerance. Several people were injured in the skirmish, including controversial blogger Ismail ‘Khilath’ Rasheed who’s website was last month blocked on the order of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

That evening, Nasheed gave an address at a function marking International Human Rights Day, in which he said that “Islam stands for the dignity, honour, and nobility of mankind, on which Islamic Sharia is based”, and contended that those who claimed Sharia conflicts with fundamental human rights “are clearly unable to comprehend or accept Sharia verdicts.”

The explosive reaction against UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, following her recent call for a moratorium and debate on the practice of flogging for extramarital sex, and an amendment to the “discriminatory” constitutional provision that all Maldivians be Muslim, was a lost opportunity to showcase Sharia’s compatability with human rights, he said.

“Our scholars lost the chance by reacting in a provocative and ‘Jihadi’ manner, even calling to harm the High Commissioner,” Nasheed said.

Religious figures were yesterday quick to publicly condemn the calls for violence.

Speaking to Minivan News, Former State Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said that the slogan calling for murder was “not good”, adding that “Islam is a religion of peace, not of violence”.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Finance Ministry selects Allied to provide universal health insurance

The Finance Ministry has announced that the government will partner with Allied Insurance to provide all Maldivians with universal health insurance.

The Ministry said that three companies expressed interest in the public-private partnership, but only Allied completed the letter of expression.

“Sri Lanka Insurance and Amana Takaful didn’t complete the letter of expression. So we decided to award it to Allied,” Director General of the Ministry, Saami Ageel, was reported as saying.

Under the proposal, which the government intends to implement in January next year, Allied will own a 60 percent share in the scheme while the government with own the remaining 40 percent. The actual insurance premium will be paid by the government, while claims, billing and public awareness will be handled by the private partner.

The service will cover emergency treatment, including overseas if the treatment is not available locally, inpatient and outpatient services, domestic emergency evacuation, medicine under prescription, and diagnostic and therapeutic services.

Allied Insurance in July claimed to have launched the country’s first international health coverage policy allowing individuals, families and businesses to access hospital services anywhere in the world.

Provision of the services were said to have been made available through a collaboration with London-based international banking organisation Lloyd’s and the US-based Global Assurance Group.

While regional health policies for destinations like Singapore and Sri Lanka have been available for some time in the country, Allied claimed that its premium package now allowed for coverage everywhere in the world including the US and Canada.

Allied said at the time that although it has worked to provide coverage suitable for all types of income, the international coverage have been devised for higher income earners in the country.

Meanwhile, MPs this week proposed almost a hundred amendments to the National Health Insurance Bill, including a call for it to be made compulsory for locals and expatriates alike.

The bill currently requires workers to contribute 3.5 percent of their salaries to the scheme, however an amendment proposed by MP Yusuf Abdul Gafoor would require the government to pay insurance costs for everyone in the country, out of revenue derived from taxing tobacco products.

Haveeru reported that Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed had proposed a 1.5 percent employee contribution, with three percent paid by the employer. Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Rozaina Adam proposed that workers pay only 0.5 percent.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maldives must “better assist those who live under repressive regimes”: Ambassador to the EU tells ‘Freedom Online’ conference

Maldives Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union, Ali Hussain Didi, has attended the Freedom Online Conference at The Hague, Netherlands.

Representatives from Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Estonia, Ghana, Indonesia, the Republic of Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Sweden, the European Commission, UNDP, NGO’s, cyber activists and internet companies attended the event.

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton delivered a keynote speech at the opening session of the conference, hosted by Google and Free Press Unlimited.

“This is an urgent task. It is most urgent, of course, for those around the world whose words are now censored, who are imprisoned because of what they or others have written online, who are blocked from accessing entire categories of internet content, or who are being tracked by governments seeking to keep them from connecting with one another,” Clinton said.

Ambassador Didi spoke on behalf of Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Naseem, stating that “it is up to us as representatives of the international community to step up our efforts to remind all governments of their responsibilities, under international law, to protect human rights on-line.”

At the same time, the Communications Authority of the Maldives (CAM) last month blocked the website of controversial Maldivian blogger Ismail ‘Hilath’ Rasheed on the order of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. The Ministry made the request on the grounds that the site contained anti-Islamic material.

CAM Director Abdulla Nafeeg Pasha told Minivan News in November that the Islamic Ministry had the power to regulate website content in the Maldives.

“If the ministry tells us to shut it down, that’s what we do. We do not make the decision,” Pasha said.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) subsequently issued a statement urging the government “not to give in to the fanatical minority” and to do “all it can to ensure the media are free to tackle any subjects they choose.”

“The increase in acts of religious intolerance is a threat to the Maldives’ young democracy”, RSF said, requesting the “immediate reopening of [Hilath’s] blog.”

RSF noted that there were harsh penalties for blasphemy under Maldivian law following new regulations enforcing the 1994 Religious Unity Act, which bans the media from circulating any material that “humiliates Allah, his prophets, the Koran, the Sunnah or the Islamic faith”.

Incidents involving media workers were rare in the Maldives, RSF observed, “but that is only because most of them prefer to censor themselves and stay away from subjects relating to Islam, unlike Ismail Khilath Rasheed.”

Speaking at the Freedom Online Conference, Ambassador Didi stated that “it is also beholden on us to better assist those who live under repressive regimes and who are trying to use the internet to spread the word about their plight, to mobilise support and to engender change.”

Rasheed was hospitalised with head injuries on Saturday after a ‘silent protest’ against religious intolerance was attacked by a group on men armed with stones.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Protesters calling for religious tolerance attacked with stones, threatened with death

Police are investigating a violent attack on a ‘silent protest’ calling for religious tolerance, held at the Artificial Beach to mark Human Rights Day.

Witnesses said a group of men threw rocks at the 15-30 demonstrators, calling out threats and vowing to kill them.

One witness who took photos of the attacked said he was “threatened with death if these pictures were leaked. He said we should never been seen in the streets or we will be sorry.”

Among those injured in the attack was Ismail ‘Khilath’ Rasheed, a controverisal blogger whose website was recently blocked by the Communications Authority of the Maldives (CAM) on the order of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

Rasheed suffered a head injury and was rushed to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

“They started hitting us with bricks. They were aiming at our heads – we could tell they were serious and wanted to kill us,” Rasheed told Minivan News from hospital. “I was taken on a motorcycle to IGMH, but I could see them behind me still hitting my friends.”

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said police attended the scene after the attackers had departed, and were currently investigating the cause of the violence. No arrests had yet been made, he added.

The protesters, calling themselves ‘Silent Solidarity’, had earlier issued a press release stating that their intention was to “make the Maldives and the international community aware of the rising religious intolerance in the Maldives, and to condemn the Constitutionally endorsed suppression of religious freedom. We also denounce the increasing use being made of Islam as a tool of political power.”

“Silent Solidarity will be protesting against discrimination of all races, gender, sexual preferences and religious beliefs and supporting freedom of thought and expression. In our silence, we speak volumes,” the group’s statement said.

The Maldives has come under increasing international scrutiny following an apparent rise in religious intolerance.

Several monuments gifted to the Maldives by other SAARC countries during the recent summit in Addu have been defaced or stolen on the grounds that they are idolatrous. Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has condemned the monuments while the opposition has hailed the vandals as “national heroes”.

Protests also erupted last month after UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay spoke in parliament calling for the government and the judiciary to issue a moratorium and debate on flogging as a punishment for extra-marital sex.

“This practice constitutes one of the most inhumane and degrading forms of violence against women and should have no place in the legal framework of a democratic country,” Pillay said.

“The issue needs to be examined, and therefore I called for a countrywide discussion. It is much better if the issue is transparent and debated.”

Pillay also stated that requirement under the Maldivian constitution that all Maldivians be Muslim ”is discriminatory, and does not comply with international standards. I would urge a debate again on the issue to open up entrance of the constitution to all.”

Challenged by a local journalist that the Maldives was both obliged to protect the religion of Islam, she replied: “You have a constitution which conforms in many respects to universal human rights. Let me assure you that these human rights conform with Islam.”

She added that the Maldives had signed international treaties that are legally-binding obligations, “and such a practice conflicts with these obligations undertaken by the Maldives.”

The following day protesters gathered outside the UN building, carrying placards stating “Islam is not a toy”, “Ban UN” and “Flog Pillay”, and called on authorities to arrest the UN High Commissioner.

MPs roundly condemned Pillay’s statements.

‘”What we should be worried about holding discussions against the fundamentals of Islam in a 100 percent Muslim country such as the Maldives is that we may start questioning about worshipping God Almighty tomorrow,” said opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Afrashim Ali.

Ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed said the Maldives “will never ever open doors for religions other than Islam in the Maldives. We’ll not give the opportunity to speak against the fundamentals and principles of Islam in the parliament.”

MP Riyaz Rasheed, from the opposition-aligen Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) condemned the Speaker Abdulla Shahid from allowing Pillay to complete her address.

“There is a good chance for us to directly say that Abdulla Shahid has made a good deal with this government to wipe out the religion of Islam from this country,” MP Rasheed said.

President Mohamed Nasheed has meanwhile said that Maldivians “should have the self-belief and resolve not to have our faith shaken by listening to statements or opinions expressed by others.”

“That the punishments and rulings of Islamic Sharia are not inhumane is very clear to us,” Nasheed said. “We have the opportunity to show the whole world how noble and civilised Sharia is. That is because we are the only Islamic nation with a democratically-elected government.

“Wasting that opportunity in a Jihadi spirit” with the claim of “defending Islam” was unacceptable, Nasheed said. “Opposition parties will always attack us by using religion as a weapon. [But] I believe that this country is the only Islamic nation where Islamic Sharia has been practiced uninterrupted for 700 years.”

Religious sentiment in the Maldives can often be vocal and heated, but has rarely led to physical violence.

In late May 2010, well-known Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik visited the Maldives and delivered a sermon in the capital Male’. During a question-and-answer session 37 year-old Mohamed Nazim stood up and declared himself “Maldivian and not a Muslim”.

Nazim’s declaration angered the 11,000 strong crowd, and he was escorted from the venue by police and officials from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs amid calls for his execution.

After two days of religious counselling in police custody, Nazim appeared before television cameras at an Islamic Ministry press conference and gave Shahada – the Muslim testimony of belief – and apologised for causing “agony for the Maldivian people” and requested that the community accept him back into society.

In July 2010, 25 year-old air traffic controller Ismail Mohamed Didi was found hanged from the control tower of Male’ International Airport in an apparent suicide, after seeking asylum in the UK for fear of persecution over his stated lack of religious belief.

“Maldivians are proud of their religious homogeneity and I am learning the hard way that there is no place for non-Muslim Maldivians in this society,” Didi wrote in a letter to an international humanitarian organisation, prior to his death.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

India’s 3-1 win “bad luck for us”, says Maldives coach

India has defeated the Maldives 3-1 in the semifinals of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) championship, securing its place at the finals of the ongoing Championship Tournament.

The Maldives equalised an early goal from the India side, with Shamweel Qasim scoring in the 60th minute.

However India regained the lead after the Maldives brought down India’s Sunil Chhetri in the penalty area, losing the penalty and allowing India to pull ahead in the 70th minute.

Chhetri scored India’s third goal during injury time, cementing a victory for India that will see it playing Afghanistan in the final, following the latter’s 1-0 victory over Nepal.

Maldives’ coach Istvan Urbanyi said India was “lucky to have won the match.”

“The Indian coach said that the team which made less mistakes will win the tournament. But I said luck is very important. It was 1-1 deadlock and then India got the penalty and we had enough chances to restore parity again but we could not. So it was bad luck for us,” Urbanyi said, following India’s win.

“I had said the team which has extra quality players will win the tournament and my side has more quality players. But bad luck for us.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

GMR shares dip on back of Civil Court ruling against airport development charge

GMR shares on the Mumbai stock exchange fell 7.57 percent on Thursday on the back of a Civil Court ruling in the Maldives against its proposed US$25 Airport Development Charge (ADC), India’s Economic Times reported.

The paper earlier reported that the share slip had taken the company to a 52-week low, and that that the decision could leave the airport development project facing an annual funding shortage of US$25 million.

GMR said yesterday that it had yet to receive a copy of the Civil Court’s judgement and was only aware of the ruling through media reports.

“We are yet to receive the copy of the judgment and as such we are not in a position to evaluate the implications of the ruling,” the company said in a statement.

“GMR has been permitted to collect ADC and Insurance charge under the Concession Agreement signed between GMR-MAHB, Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) and The Republic of Maldives (acting by and through its Ministry of Finance and Treasury), and as such has set up processes for ADC collection from 1st January 2012 supported by an information campaign to ensure adequate awareness,” the company said.

“The bid for the Concession to manage, develop and operate Ibrahim Nasir International Airport for 25 years was conducted by the [World Bank’s] International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the component of ADC was part of the bid. GMR is confident that Government of Maldives will take such measures as would be necessary to honour its contractual obligation in this regard, given that the success of the development of the airport project is of national economic importance.”

The company noted that the payment of a development fee was “a common concept in many airports globally”, particularly as a part of concession agreements where airports are privatised.

“The reason for the inclusion of ADC in many global concession agreements is to address the funding needs to meet the investment model required to upgrade and develop new airport facilities at significant costs,” GMR stated.

The Civil Court ruled that the clause in the concession agreement with GMR violated the Airport Service Charges Act of 1978, which was amended in 2009 to raise the charge to US$18 for foreign passengers and US$12 for Maldivians above two years of age.

Judge Ali Rasheed Hussein ruled that the Airport Development Charge and insurance charge were service charges “under other names.”

He noted that the Airport Service Charges Act had been amended seven times to raise the charges since 1978 by the legislature, “based on the economic circumstances of the Maldives and the means of the public,” which showed that the purpose of the law was to ensure that enforcement agencies did not have the authority to raise the charges.

The suit was filed by the opposition-aligned Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP), led by former Attorney General, Dr Hassan Saeed.

President Mohamed Nasheed’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said he believed the government was obliged to appeal the lower court ruling to in order to comply with the terms of the concession agreement.

GMR’s 25 year concession agreement to construct and manage a new US$400 million terminal (to be competed in 2014) is the single largest foreign investment in the history of the Maldives.

The strength of the IFC-monitored bid by the GMR-Malaysian Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), split 77:23 percent respectively, came from its US$78 million upfront payment (compared with US$27 million from the second-highest bidder) and in particular, its 27 percent sharing of fuel revenue (from 2014).

At the time, the government anticipated that 60 percent of government revenue from the airport deal would derive from fuel – US$74.25 million annually between 2015-2020, increasing to US$128.7 a year from 2025-2035. This in turn was the most significant element of the final ‘net-present-value’ calculations to determine the winning bid.

A briefing document obtained by Minivan News following GMR’s successful bid in June 2010 contained forecasts of the government’s expected earnings from the airport over the lifespan of the contract. It revealed that a majority of the predicted revenue, a major factor in calculating the NPV (net present value) used to determine the successful bid, derived from the 27 percent fuel revenue share once the airport is completed in 2014:

  • 2015-2020: 12.8m gross + 74.25m fuel = US$87.05m per year
  • 2020-2025- 17.02m gross + 90.99m fuel = US$108.01m per year
  • 2025-2035 – 20.43 gross + 108.27m fuel = US$128.7 m per year

The document contrasted this with the dividends paid to the government by MACL over the last three years, noting that the majority of the dividends paid in 2008-2009 were achieved “by taking a loan.” Dividends in 2007 were 2.3 million, 13.3 million in 2008, and 5.05 million in 2009.

On the suggestion that MACL should be allowed to raise finance and invest in the upgrade itself, a predicted US$300-400 million, the document noted that MACL “already has debts of Rf 600 million (US$46.69 million)” and would be unable to obtain further leverage “without a sovereign guarantee – simply not allowed due to the IMF measures.”

At the same time, GMR’s bid offered a significantly lower 10 percent share of gross airport revenue, as compared to the other two bids.

The only historic figures available to the government in estimating this revenue (a staid US$20.43 million by 2025-2035) were derived from the existing commercial revenue from the airport – usage fees, ground handling charges, duty free shop rents, and so forth.

Compared to the glittering Gucci-lined corridors of airports in tourist hubs such as Dubai, the airport’s 4-5 departure lounge shops and dilapidated eateries – some serving pot noodle – were a missed opportunity, given the bulging wallet of the average visitor to the Maldives.

Speaking at the opening of GMR’s cavernous Delhi Terminal 3, GMR Manager P Sripathi told Minivan News that the consortium was very interested in the well-heeled concourse traffic in the Maldives – sufficiently interested to invest a sum equal to almost half the country’s stated GDP at the time.

“It’s a lovely project. The type of tourists coming are from the very high-end tourism market, therefore the business opportunities are plenty,” Sripathi said at the time.

Minivan News reported in June 2010 that some of the investment was to be recovered through a US$25 airport development charge, set by the government for all bidders to be levied only on international travellers at time of departure and added to ticket prices.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

MP witnesses summoned to PG Office for questioning in vote-buying corruption case

The Prosecutor General’s Office has reportedly summoned MPs involved in bribery allegations concerning Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Gasim Ibrahim to present for questioning.

Police detained Gasim and People’s Alliance (PA) MP Abdulla Yameen in early July 2010 on accusations of bribery and, according to the police charge sheet, “attempting to topple the government illegally.”

President Nasheed’s cabinet had resigned en masse the week prior, in protest against what they claimed were the “scorched earth politics” of the opposition-majority parliament, leaving only President Mohamed Nasheed and Vice President Mohamed Waheed Hassan in charge of the country. The move circumvented regulations blocking the arrest of MPs while no-confidence motions were pending against sitting ministers.

Several days later, audio recordings of conversations between several MPs, including Yameen and Gasim, were leaked to the media. The recordings carried implications of vote-buying within parliament, suggestions of collaboration with the officials in the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), and details of a plan to derail the progress of a taxation bill.

Later in July 2010, the President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair told Minivan News that the government had felt obliged to take action after six MDP MPs came forward with statements alleging Yameen and Gasim had attempted to bribe them to vote against the government.

At the time the opposition PA-DRP coalition had a small voting majority, with the addition of supportive independent MPs. However, certain votes require a two-thirds majority of the 77 member chamber – such as a no-confidence motion to impeach the president.

“These MPs are two individuals of high net worth – tycoons with vested interests,” Zuhair said at the time. “In pursuing their business interests they became enormously rich during the previous regime, and now they are trying to use their ill-gotten gains to bribe members in the Majlis [parliament] and judiciary to keep themselves in power and above the fray. They were up to all sorts of dark and evil schemes. There were plans afoot to topple the government illegally before the interim period was over.”

Local media reported this week that police had reopened the case against Yameen and Gasim, following a response by Police Inspector Mohamed Riyaz to a question from parliament’s Privileges Committee on the status of the investigation.

Riyaz clarified that while both MPs had been arrested over the matter, “we could find no evidence against Yameen. The bribery case only concerns Gasim.”

While bribery was the stipulated offence Riyaz observed that this was “not necessarily only money.”

Police sent the case to the Prosecutor General’s Office on August 2 last year.

Inspector Riyaz told Minivan News that the Prosecutor General had tried to summon the MPs who gave evidence in the case for questioning over the matter.

While it was “not common for witnesses to be taken to the PG’s office”, Riyaz said he hoped the MPs would cooperate with the PG’s office and clarify their statements. In the statements taken by police, the MPs were “quite clear” about what they had been offered, he added.

Zuhair today said that police had submitted “irrefutable evidence” that six members of parliament had been offered bribes, and that the Prosecutor General “should take the matter forward.”

“This is a very serious issue that last year led to the abrupt resignation of cabinet, and transpired to nearly stop the functioning of government,” Zuhair said.

The Prosecutor General was not responding to Minivan News at time of press.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Finance Ministry refutes reports of 40 percent police and armed forces salary increase

Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz has disputed claims by People’s Alliance (PA) MP Abdulla Yameen that police and armed forces MPs will receive a 40 percent salary increase in 2012.

Instead the 2012 budget for police and armed forces will increase 9.51 percent “to cover the salary increment for officers who receive promotion and salaries of those who are to be employed next year,” Inaz told newspaper Haveeru.

The 2012 budget includes the provision for 50 additional police officers, while the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) will only recruit to vacant posts, Inaz stated.

Yameen allegedly learned of the proposal from the budget review committee rather than the budget itself, Haveeru reported earlier this week.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has meanwhile requested parliament include any unpaid civil servants’ salaries and allowances in the 2012 budget without conditions.

Several independent institutions, including the Maldives National University (MNU), meanwhile raised concerns this week over cuts made by the Finance Ministry to their proposed budgets for 2012.

The program-based budget submitted by some of the institutions was revised by the Finance Ministry to maintain recurrent expenditure in line with projected income.

The Rf 14.6 billion (US$946.8 million) state budget for 2012 was submitted to parliament on November 28 by Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz. It is now being reviewed by parliament’s budget review committee headed by local business tycoon, MP Gasim Ibrahim.

The committee met with senior officials of the Local Government Authority (LGA) and the MNU this week, as well as several other institutions, during which they complained about cuts made by the Finance Ministry during the revision process prior to the submission to parliament.

Finance Minister Inaz was not responding to calls at time of press.

The Constitution requires parliament to finalise the budget before December 28. Previous budget committees have significantly increased the budget submitted by the Finance Ministry.

President Mohamed Nasheed’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair observed that additional subsidies and salary increases allocated by parliament for political reasons made it “very difficult” for the government to adhere to the budget.

” “The budget submitted to parliament is a product of exhaustive consultation. Last year no reference was made as to which sector the Finance Ministry should deduct the extra expenditure, and the Minister is required to use his discretion,” Zuhair said.

The Finance Minister has claimed that the government will cover recurrent expenditure in next year’s budget and reduce the deficit to 9.7 percent. However Yameen has claimed that Rf2.3 billion (US$150 million) has been allocated to repaying loans, and that the country’s debt now amounts to Rf 16,000 (US$1037) per head.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maldives Hotel and Trade Exhibition draws innovative exhibits

For those in the market for golf buggies, solar heaters, paintings, outdoor furniture, spas, lighting, fish products or energy drinks, the Maldives Hotel and Trade Exhibition was the place to be this week.

The two day event was organised by the Maldives Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI), filling two halls at Dharubaaruge with exhibitors from all over the world.

One particularly striking exhibit amid the lighting and food and beverage suppliers was a design for a ‘Star-Trekish’ underwater hotel with 21 rooms and positive buoyancy, able to be moored in a lagoon with minimal impact on the reef.

The two main discs sit on a central pillar – one of them eight metres underwater – and cleverly offset each others’ weight using natural water buoyancy so that only minimal foundations are needed.

“The lower disc is filled with air and is buoyant, and is anchored to the ground with steel lines,” explained architect Pawel Podwojewski. The seawater swimming pools on the top disc are four metres deep and weight the structure, and can be used for diver training. In an emergency the cables can be released allowing the lower disc to automatically surface.

Various modules can be attached ranging from spas to a restaurant, helipad and dive school. A decompression chamber is built into the lower part of the structure.

The Polish company behind the design, Deep Ocean Technology, has a background in shipbuilding rather than hotels. Podwojewski acknowledged that he had received “a lot of hard questions” during the two day MNCCI event, but had lined up “three or four” positive meetings. As presented the cost of the structure is expected to run up to US$25 million, although it is modular enough to be relocated where ever economic conditions dictate.

In the Maldives version, guests would access the structure via a jetty, spend a few nights in the underwater hotel and the rest of their holiday on the surface enjoying the sun and sandy beaches, Podwojewski suggested.

The two-day MNCCI event concludes on Wednesday evening. The annual event has run for 10 years now, both attracting tourism services to the Maldives doorstep and allowing local providers to make direct sales to visiting companies.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)