Housing Development Corporation (HDC) Managing Director Suhail Ahmed told the press that the Nederland’s Royal Boskalis Westminster was a possible partner for the land reclamation project. The company has been accused of committing “environmental crimes” in the dredging of Dhaalu Meedhoo and Baa Eydhafushi.
Addu City Council’s Guesthouse Tourism Promotion Board will assist with the construction, financing, and staffing of new guest houses in six designated areas of the country’s second largest urban area.
Despite a positive outlook for the economy in 2014, the central bank warned that “any setback to fiscal consolidation either due to slippages in revenue or current expenditure will undermine medium-term debt sustainability and will have adverse implications for exchange rate and prices.”
“This smuggling of people is done by garnering a lot of financial aid. People smuggling has become a huge business globally. We must do all necessary to inhibit people smuggling through the Maldives,” said Mohamed Nazim.
The company has come under fire for mining sand from the country’s only Biosphere reserve, and damaging reefs and shorelines in other islands.
According to the Deccan Herald, India’s Army Chief General Bikram Singh has offered to build a dockyard worth MVR7.7 billion (US$500 million) in the Maldives. China has reportedly indicated interest in the project first.
Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim has pledged to compile a low carbon development strategy to minimize the Maldives’ dependence on fossil fuels. The announcement comes at a time when the government is calling for investment in oil exploration.
The GMR is only owed reimbursement for a US$ 78 million upfront concession fee and expenses incurred for airport development, not compensation for losses, Attorney General Mohamed Anil has said.
The Criminal Court has asked the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG) to resend all files concerning Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed’s alleged misuse of state funds after case documents were destroyed in a coffee spill.