Author: Minivan News

MTCC to build docking terminal in Thilafushi

The state-owned Maldives Transport and Construction Company (MTCC) is planning to invest MVR52 million (US$3.3 million) to build a docking terminal on the industrial island of Thilafushi near Malé.

MTCC chairman Hussain Salim reportedly said at the company’s annual general meeting last night that the dock yard can be completed in three years.

The company could earn a profit of MVR100 million (US$6.4 million) in a short period due to high demand for the service, he added.

The company will also introduce steel construction this year, Salim said, which is cheaper and faster than concrete structures.

MTCC also plans to invest MVR700 million (US$45 million) during the next five years to improve the capability of the local construction industry. The investment includes buying a dredger for land reclamation projects, Salim said.

The company made a record profit of MVR81.64 million (US$5.2 million) in 2014.

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Two narrow lanes in Malé pedestrianized

The housing ministry has pedestrianized two narrow lanes in the capital Malé city.

The Embu goalhi and Gul’alaa goalhi in central Machangoalhi ward were closed to traffic as part of a campaign to make Malé city friendlier to pedestrians.

The housing ministry has also barred vehicles from parking in the lanes.

Malé is one of the most congested cities in the world.

The housing ministry in February pedestrianized two lanes, the Heenaa Goalhi and the Raivilla Magu. However, they were opened up for traffic within days after residents in the area complained.

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Maldives film wins bronze medal at regional film festival

A Maldives feature film has won a bronze award at a SAARC film festival held in Sri Lanka in May.

The film titled, Insaanaa (Human), was directed by veteran actor Ali Seezan. It won the bronze medal against 18 other films from the region.

A second Maldivian film, Hulhudhaan, was also featured in the festival.

Maldives also won the bronze medal the previous year for Ravee Faroog’s Ingili (Finger).

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Maldives to hold a second investment forum in China

The Maldives will hold a second investment forum in China’s capital Beijing in September, the economic development minister has said.

“Beijing will be a perfect place for Maldivian businesses to promote their businesses and networking,” minister Mohamed Saeed said in a tweet.

The first investment forum was held in Singapore in April 2014.

At the time, President Abdulla Yameen had sought investors for the ‘I-havan’ project to develop a port in the north, oil exploration, the development of Hulhumale and relocation of the business port to Thilafushi Island, and the development of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.

In November 2014, the president declared a foreign policy shift to the East, after denouncing “Western colonial powers.”

The China and Maldives have signed several MOU’s to increase cooperation in the military and health sectors, and the Maldives is now a partner in China’s maritime silk route.

Chinese experts are currently conducting a feasibility study for a bridge between Malé and Hulhumalé.

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President Yameen promises engine for Dhiggaru during campaign trip

President Abdulla Yameen visited Meemu Dhiggaru today to campaign for the ruling party candidate ahead of the upcoming by-election for the constituency’s vacant parliament seat.

“There will be a 145 kilowatt generator in Dhiggaru before the start of Ramadan,” he said at a campaign event, according to president’s office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali.

The president’s nephew, Ahmed Faris Maumoon, is contesting the June 6 by-election as the Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) candidate. Faris is the eldest son of PPM leader, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

President Yameen’s pledges follow PPM MPs assuring development of the five islands in the Dhiggaru constituency if Faris wins the by-election, prompting allegations of undue influence and bribery.

In his remarks at Dhiggaru, President Yameen also slammed the opposition’s continuing protests, saying demonstrations would not lead to development.

Tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb, housing minister Dr Muiz, and more than 25 PPM MPs accompanied the president during the trip. The delegation also visited Madduvari and Muli in Meemu atoll.

According to the president’s office, the president met the people of the three Meemu atoll islands and inquired about the difficulties being faced by the residents. ‎

“Addressing the people of the islands, the president mainly ‎highlighted the developmental projects to be carried out in the islands,” the president’s office said.

“The ‎president also reiterated the government’s commitment to realise the ‎developmental aspirations of the people. Further, the president underscored ‎the importance of receiving greater cooperation, and the significance of a ‎peaceful and harmonious society for the successful implementation of such ‎developmental projects.‎”

The PPM has previously been accused of bribery over the delivery of an x-ray machine to Muli last week.

The government has also signed an agreement with state-owned Maldives Transport and Construction Company to build a harbour in Dhiggaru.

The ruling party was previously also accused of vote-buying after openly handing over air-conditioners to a school in Raa Atoll Alifushi, shortly before an island council by-election.

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STELCO signs US$90m power development project

The State Electricity Company (STELCO) has signed a US$90 million power development project with China’s Dongfang Electric International Corporation to generate an additional 50 megawatts of electricity.

The state-owned utility company provides electricity services in Malé and its suburbs and presently produces 60 megawatts using 22 engines.

Under its fifth power development project, the company will install six engines over the next two years capable of generating eight megawatts each.

Speaking at a project inauguration ceremony on Thursday, STELCO managing director Abdul Shukoor said the company struggled to generate enough electricity for Malé during the recent hot northeastern monsoon.

STELCO was also unable to do maintenance work on engines and machinery, he said.

Once the power project is complete, Shukoor said STELCO would be able to provide electricity services without interruptions or technical problems.

The project will be financed through the STELCO budget and with loan assistance. The new engines are to be kept at the vacant plot next to the garbage dump.

Shukoor said the company plans to carry out another power development after four years, which will be four times bigger than the current project.

 

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Bank of Maldives appoints first female chairperson

The Bank of Maldives has appointed Fareeha Shareef as the first female chairperson of the national bank.

The bank’s board of directors decided to appoint Fareeha at a meeting on Thursday. The post had been vacant since last year.

According to the bank, Fareeha is a founder and former managing partner (2010 to 2014) of FJS Associates LLP where she currently holds the position of senior partner.

“She is also a director at FJS Consulting Pvt Ltd and has been an independent consultant of Adam Smith International since 2012,” the bank said in a press release.

She also served six years as a board member of the Maldives Pension Administration Office

“Ms Fareeha has professional experience in various fields such as auditing, accountancy, financial management and governance. In addition, she has vast experience in financial modelling, including banking, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and socioeconomic research in Maldives and in the international arena,” the press release continued.

“Ms Fareeha is a Fellow Member of CPA (Certified Public Accountants, UK) and ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, UK) and a member of the Institute of International Auditors and Certified Fraud Examiners. She holds a Master of Management Studies (First Class) degree from the University of Waikato, New Zealand.”

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MP reveals plans to build 600-room resort

Ruling coalition MP and tourism tycoon Ahmed Siyam has announced plans to build a 600-room resort on the island of Dhigurah in northern Noonu Atoll.

“On completion, the resort will be the largest tourism offering in the Maldives, creating more than 2,500 jobs for the local Maldivian community,” the MP’s company, Sun Siyam, said.

The resort on Dhigurah will have 14 different room categories, 15 food and beverage outlets as well as an underwater restaurant.

Siyam is also to open a second resort in Sri Lanka’s Kalpitiya.

“The Maldives has a form of home-grown service culture and industry know-how that is currently not being fully utilised to its full potential domestically, and certainly not on the international stage. Just like the well-known Swiss, Indian and Thai forms of hospitality, Maldivian hospitality can create desire and demand in any region,” he said.

Siyam also sits on the board of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry.

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Foreign ministry recalls high commissioner to Malaysia

The ministry of foreign affairs has recalled today the Maldivian high commissioner to Malaysia, who is reported to be a close associate of the jailed ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

The ministry in a press statement said the High Commissioner Mohamed ‘FA’ Fayaz had failed to “adequately promote Maldives’ foreign policy interests in Malaysia.”

Hours later, Fayaz announced his resignation from the foreign service on Twitter.

Speaking to CNM, Fayaz said he was unable to continue living in Malaysia any longer for personal reasons.

When asked if he would accept a different position with the government, Fayaz said: “I do not think I will be offered another job.”

Fayaz was the deputy minister of transport and communication during the controversial transfer of power in February 2012.

He then served as minister of state for home affairs and was appointed as the high commissioner to Malaysia in May 2014.

Nazim was sentenced to 11 years in jail on weapons smuggling charges. The police had found a pistol and three bullets during a midnight raid on January 18.

President Abdulla Yameen dismissed Nazim from the cabinet two days later, and he was arrested on February 10 on charges of treason.

Citing documents allegedly found in a pen drive with the weapons, police said Nazim had planned to attack the president, tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb and police chief Hussein Waheed.

In court, Nazim said the weapons were planted in his bedroom by rogue police officers on the tourism minister’s orders.

The ex-defence minister said Adeeb bore a grudge against him after he lodged a complaint with the president on masked men, reported to be police officers, cutting down all of Malé City’s Areca palms on Adeeb’s orders last year.

The media was barred from the hearing where state prosecutors revealed the documents from the pen drive.

But pro-government newspaper Vaguthu later publicised the documents claiming Nazim’s legal team “took pictures of the documents and sent to close friends.”

The leaked documents purportedly showed Nazim was planning to secure weapons from the state armoury to assassinate president Yameen.

Fayaz was to get support from the Thailand army “if necessary” to help Nazim assume the presidency.

Nazim’s lawyers, however, slammed Vaguthu for “blatantly false information” and categorically denied taking photos of the documents. They noted that court officers confiscated phones and searched lawyers with a hand-held metal detector before they entered the courtroom.

The documents also contained a chart showing the Yameen administration divided into factions led respectively by the president and Nazim.

Nazim’s “team” included Fayaz, the Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), Home Minister Umar Naseer, former Police Commissioner and current JP MP Abdulla Riyaz, former State Trading Organisation (STO) Managing Director Adam Azim (Nazim’s brother), PPM MP Hussain Manik Dhon Manik, PPM MP Ahmed Nazim, Youth Minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, and President’s Office Minister Abdulla Ameen.

The president last week dismissed Maleeh without any explanation.

Following Nazim’s dismissal, the military dismissed Major Ahmed Faisal and Captain Ibrahim Naeem from the posts of head of the Special Protection Group (SPG) and Head of Armoury, respectively.

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