Tag: Ibrahim Nasir International Airport

GMR announces dollar payments to employees as ruling parties continue call for nationalisation

Additional reporting by JJ Robinson

Despite recent government assurances that Indian investments in the Maldives would be protected, parties in the now ruling coalition have renewed calls for the airport to be nationalised.

Indian infrastructure company GMR has meanwhile informed staff that it will pay 50 percent of employee salaries in US dollars from July onwards, as part of the new employee benefits scheme. Further benefits announced include the payment of Ramadan bonuses in US dollars, and a profit-sharing scheme awarding employees a one percent share of the company’s profits from 2011.

The decision follows a week in which former opposition parties – now in a coalition government following the controversial transfer of power of February 7 – sent replies to President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s request for opinions on the airport, the development and management of which was taken over by GMR in 2010 in a 25 year concession agreement signed with the now-opposition government.

The pro-government parties – including the Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP), Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), People’s Alliance (PA) and Jumhoree Party (JP) – advised Waheed that they continued to endorse an agreement signed in June 2010 calling for the airport to be taken back from GMR and nationalised – the  ‘Joint Statement by political parties opposing government’s efforts to hand over the Male’ International Airport to a foreign party’.

The agreement endorsed six main points which included taking legal action to prevent the government’s decision to award the contract to GMR.

GMR’s contract is currently under scrutiny by a committee appointed by President Waheed, which includes the Attorney General, the Finance Minister and the CEO of Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL).

A delegation from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – a member of the World Bank group and the largest global institution focused on private sector in developing countries,  which brokered the deal between GMR and the government of Maldives – recently addressed the government’s concerns over the concession agreement in a meeting with senior government officials.

The DQP – a small but extremely vocal party which has consistently opposed the airport deal and filed court cases against it – today accused the IFC of mishandling the bid evaluation report of the airport privatisation agreement. A 24-page book released by the DQP while it was in opposition presents the government’s lease of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) to developer GMR as a threat to local industry that will “enslave the nation and its economy”.

“IFC is a company associated with GMR in many other projects. It is clear that IFC had issued loans to GMR on other projects. We believe that the government selected IFC to facilitate GMR for the airport project,” an anonymous party source told newspaper Haveeru.

President’s Office Spokesman Abbas Adil Riza said the airport contract is “an important national issue” which “must be dealt with after discussions with coalition partners.”

However, speaking at the ceremony to mark the 100th day of his administration, President Waheed said he did not wish to involve “political disputes” in reviewing the GMR contract and that foreign investments must be handled as business dealings.

“I do not believe bringing in our political quarrels into the GMR issue will be good for our future and our economy,” said the President.

During President Waheed’s recent trip to India, he also assured Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the Maldives government would adhere to all agreements between Indian and Maldivian businesses and expressed the Maldives’ desire for further Indian investment in the country.

“My government is a continuation of the previous government under then President Nasheed, and hence there should be no doubt on this score,” he was quoted as telling Manmohan Singh in the Daily News.

In addition, during the India trip, Maldives Foreign Minister Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla assured his Indian counterpart that all existing investment agreements would be honoured despite the change of government on February 7.

According to Indian newspaper The Hindu, Samad assured Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna that the government’s policy was unchanged, after his counterpart expressed the desire that the Maldives remained friendly to outside investors.

Hostile politics

Despite these assurances, the revelation that major political parties now in government continue their endorsement of airport nationalisation, and challenging of the IFC’s competency, could increase tensions between the government and GMR and weaken investor confidence in the Maldives – at nearly US$500 million, the airport concession agreement is the country’s single largest foreign investment.

Declining to comment on the official standing of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) on the GMR deal, the party’s Deputy Leader Dr Abdulla Mausoom said the DRP was against privatising “assets of national importance”.

Jumhoree Party (JP) Spokeman Moosa Rameez said the party had written to the President stating their wish to adhere to the agreement signed between the then opposition parties.

Although the parties in the government had expressed several concerns including “threats to national security” in “giving away the airport to foreigners”, the government’s current concerns are focused on the disputed concession fees in the agreement.

Under the concession agreement in the GMR contract, a US$25 charge was to be levied as an airport development charge (ADC) on all outgoing passengers to part-fund the infrastructure project.

However, while in opposition, the DQP – which today forms part of Waheed’s national unity government – filed a successful case in the Civil Court in December 2011 to block the payment of the charge, on the grounds that it was effectively a tax not approved by parliament.

Nasheed’s government had agreed to deduct the ADC from the concession fees payable by GMR while it sought to appeal to verdict. As a result, Dr Waheed’s government received only US$525,355 from the airport for the first quarter of 2012, compared to the US$8.7 million it was expecting.

In April, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad declared that the Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) would be unable to continuing paying the ADC without risking bankruptcy.

The Transport Ministry has since ordered GMR to pay the shortfall in concession fees. In response, GMR in early May “expressed a desire to exempt Maldivian citizens from the ADC”, as “the majority of Maldivians travel abroad for the purposes for healthcare and education.”

“The ADC was conceptualised and incorporated into the concession agreement by the government to yield a maximum return to the Maldives while ensuring development of the airport and a reasonable return to the successful bidder,” GMR said, in a statement at the time.

“We are sensitive to the apprehensions expressed regarding ADC; and would like to assure all concerned that the management of GMR Male International Airport is doing everything possible by offering viable options to reduce the impact on the Maldivians, thereby helping the government for the ADC implementation.”

GMR has expressed confidence in the strength of its contract, which has a facility for dispute arbitration in Singapore, as well as an option for the government to buy out the agreement – a cost likely to reach several hundred million dollars.

However the country is already facing a crippling budget deficit of 27 percent, a plunge in expected revenue of 23 percent and an increase in spending of almost 24 percent, a time when investor confidence has been impacted by repeated challenges to the government’s legitimacy by the MDP.

Earlier this week the government refused to comment on claims made in local media by JP Gasim Ibrahim that the Maldives was now bankrupt and already unable to pay some civil servants.

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Civil Court orders MVKB to vacate duty free shop within 48 hours

The Civil Court has ordered MVK Maldives Private Limited to vacate the Alpha MVKB Duty Free shop and hand the premises to GMR Male’ International Airport Private Limited within 48 hours, or face eviction by the authorities. The deadline expires at 10:00am on Wednesday.

Civil Court Judge Maryam Nihayath ordered the Police and Customs Department to implement the verdict in the event that MVKB refused to comply.

MVK’s lawyer Azima Shukoor said that shop evacuation and handover by MVKB was not possible as the shop was currently the property of Customs. “There is nothing we can do about the 48-hour deadline since we don’t have access to the shop. We are forwarding the court order to Customs and requesting access to take inventory of the shop before anything further is done,” she said.

Shukoor explained that certain goods required specific air temperatures, and the shop does not currently have cupboards or shop doors.

Shukoor added that MVKB’s case had been appealed to the Supreme Court, and that the company is awaiting that ruling.

The verdict came after GMR filed a case in the Civil Court for the second time when MVKB refused to implement the earlier verdicts of the Civil and High Courts on the issue.

Judge Nihayath recalled that the High Court has ruled that MVKB has no right to use the land without GMR’s consent because it violates contractual rights.

On December 4, GMR officials began to physically remove the Alpha MVKB Duty Free Shop at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) after “several notices” to vacate the area were “ignored”.

On December 13, the High Court ruled that GMR had vacated the Alpha MVKB Duty Free Shop at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) legally and according to the agreement between both companies.

The High Court stated that GMR gave notice on March 1 and, as per the agreement, the contract terminated on March 31. As no party could extend the termination notice, the court concluded that MVKB had no right to remain at the airport without approval from GMR.

Company CEO Ibrahim Shafeeq subsequently organised a protest on Thursday, December 15 “to demonstrate our opinions and dislike of what GMR has done to us, and to get public responses.” Posters and banners read “Leave us Alone” and “GMR Go Home.”

Shafeeq today said the protest was “very successful, and more people are signing the petition [against GMR].”

Shafeeq said he would continue to protest GMR. “It hurt me and as an individual I have to defend myself,” he said.

Speaking to Minivan News yesterday at the groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of work on the new airport terminal, GMR Chairman G M Rao said the company had encountered similar resistance from existing concessionaires when developing airports in Delhi and Istanbul.

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Mega Maldives opens route to Chonquing

One-year-old Mega Maldives Airlines welcomed its fourth scheduled route between the capital Male and the Chinese commercial powerhouse of Chongqing in China’s south-western mainland last weekend, the first time the route has been serviced from the Maldives.

“Mega Maldives viewed Chongqing as the next logical choice as a direct connection between one of the world’s most renowned and most sought after holiday destinations and the heart of China’s commerce and industry.”

Chongqing boasts one-third of China’s automobile industry, and is also home to international retail and finance groups Ford, Mazda, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Wal Mart.

Mega Maldives currently operates flights to Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Chonquing flights depart Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) every five days for the 7 hour flight.

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Police thwart removal of alleged Christian imagery on SAARC posters at airport

Several members of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), including some MPs, were arrested last night after forcing a dhoni to take them to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) where they intended to take down SAARC banners allegedly featuring Christian and other religious imagery.

“The police received information that people had tried to get to the airport using force,” said Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam. “The dhoni owner said he refused to take them but that they attacked him and made him go to the airport,” he said.

The individuals were detained at Dhoonidhoo last night. Some have been released while others are being held in custody.

PPM MP Ahmed Mahloof was released at 1:30am this morning. He said the act was organised by several friends and was not attached to PPM.

“It was not a violent or political act,” Mahloof claimed. “We each paid Rf10 for the airport ferry, maybe the dhoni owner got nervous when the police came because about ten people on the ferry were yelling at him to keep going because they had to get to the airport, so he told the police he had been attacked.

“All we said was that they had violated our right to move freely,” said Mahloof, adding that the interaction between those arrested and the police was peaceful. “The police trust the opposition, as does the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), because they do not support the President. They told us that we would have to be arrested, and we agreed to cooperate.”

Shiyam said that “with SAARC, the security is very high right now, so we are using a very quick and strong response to this issue.”

Police also took action against Mohamed ‘Wadde’ Waheed, lawyer for former president and current PPM leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who was found walking around Dhoonidhoo island without approval after last night’s arrests.

“Being a lawyer he must have known about the procedures to get onto Dhoonidhoo,” said Shiyam.

Wadde, who was discovered to have arrived on the island via speedboat, was sent back to Male’ for interrogation. He was not arrested, but did not respond to Minivan’s inquiries.

The banners at INIA are part of a series created by local company Mooinc Pvt Ltd for the SAARC summit under the theme ‘Building Bridges’. They are also in display in Fuvamulah and Addu City, where the summit is currently being held.

Mooinc Creative Director Ali Saeed said the designs were based on five themes approved by the cabinet to depict the culture and religion of the eight SAARC nations, which cumulatively practice 10 religions.

Under Religious Unity Regulations published by the government in September, it is illegal to propagate any other religion other than Islam, to carry or display in public books on religions other than Islam, and the translation into Dhivehi language such books and writings on other religions. Proselytising by foreigners remains punishable by deportation.

The regulations interpret the Religious Unity Act passed by parliament in 1994, which carries a 2-5 year prison sentence for its violation.

Mahloof confirmed that the group’s goal was to remove the banners at the airport.

“Our constitution makes it very clear that no other religions are to be displayed in our society because we are a 100 percent Muslim society,” he said, claiming that the government’s approval of the banners for the purposes of an international event surpassed necessary diplomatic etiquette.

“I don’t think the other heads of state were expecting to see their religions shown when they came here. They know that we are Muslim. I have had the opportunity to travel abroad and meet with delegates, and I never expected those countries to have mosques if they weren’t officially Muslim just to show support,” said Mahloof.

Mahloof emphasised that members of all religions are welcome in the Maldives. “It’s not that we are opposed to other religions. Their members are very welcome, we would never support the kinds of attacks that take place elsewhere. But I believe other countries respect our decision to be Muslim, and there’s no need to show so much support for other faiths. I’m sure everyone will be respected in turn,” he said.

Mahloof added that tourists have steadily come through the Maldives without complaining about a lack of Buddhist or Christian displays. He said the banners are not a threat, but rather represent a loosening religious structure.

“My concern is this: since Nasheed came to power we have seen slowly the breaking of the pillars of Islam, making holes to open doors for other faiths. Being a Maldivian, and a young person, I wouldn’t want to see other religions here. If other religions were allowed into the Maldives, I’m sure we would see more terrorist attacks and the kind of violence that is happening elsewhere. Already families don’t talk to each other just from the political changes. If Nasheed tries to bring in other religions, things will go from bad to worse.”

Speaking for PPM, Mahloof said there was suspicion that the current government is making private deals to bring in other religions. “But I believe other countries respect our decision,” he reiterated.

The SAARC summit has tempered what Mahloof said is rising frustration among Maldivian people. “PPM made an agreement yesterday not to do anything during SAARC,” he said. “I’m sure after the summit there will be protests and huge crowds in the streets.”

Mahloof, who has been arrested twice, said “we will take the steps we should with the authorities, appearing before the Human Rights Commission and the Police Integrity Commission” to discuss their arrest.

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Maldives to host 2013 World Tourism Day

The Maldives will host the 2013 World Tourism Day celebrations under the theme ‘Tourism and Water – Protecting our Common Future.’ The event is a function of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, which chose the Maldives over contender Iran.

The decision was made during the 19th General Assembly in Gyeongju, South Korea, held from October 10 to 13. Tourism Minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa and Deputy Director General Moosa Zameer Hassan were among the 600 participants from member countries.

Tourism Ministry Deputy Director General, Moosa Zameer Hassan, said Iran conceded its bid for the event when the Maldives joined the running.

Tourism accounts for nearly 70 percent of the Maldives’ GDP indirectly, and 30 percent directly. Recent shifts in the global economy have brought a new wave of tourists from Asia, which has made the Maldives Conde Nast’s second-most popular tourist destination at a time of global recession.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the VVIP Koimala Executive Lounge at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), Tourism Minister Dr Zulfa said tourism should be at the center of Maldives socioeconomic development. “Because tourism, of course, is our number one industry, and everything we do should center around making the product even more perfect than it is today.”

Hassan said the event was highly relevant to the Maldives.

“Tourism and environment are closely related to the future of the Maldives,” he observed. Although the event is a still two years away, Hassan said the Maldives hoped to take the opportunity to “provide our viewpoint to the U. N. on these issues, and portray our country and its message for this theme to the world.”

Although Hassan could not provide specifics, he was confident that the Maldives’ message in 2013 “will be about supporting tourism and environment in order to protect the Maldives, improve the quality of life for local Maldivians, and benefit foreign visitors and investors.”

Various public and private groups have lately taken steps to merge tourism and environmentalism.

Maldives Game Fishing Association (MGFA) is moving forward with a tag-and-release game fishing competition, to be held November 9-12 in and around North and South Male’ and Vaavu atolls. MGFA Committee Member Tiffany Bond previously said the event would introduce a new sport for tourists and locals while promoting conservation-friendly methods. “In many ways, it’s another feather in the tourism hat,” she said.

World Tourism Day is set for September 27 of each year. Next year’s celebration will be hosted in Spain under the theme ‘Tourism and Sustainable Energy–Powering Sustainable Development.’

Hassan concluded with a reflection on the importance of hosting World Tourism Day in the same year as the next presidential election.

“Twenty-thirteen is going to be a big year for the Maldives. By hosting an international event like this, we will be in a positive position for moving forward,” he said.

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VVIP airport lounge opens after four month project period

“Tourism begins here. The resort begins here.”

Plaza Premium Lounge Executive Director Linda Song described the newly-opened Koimala Executive Lounge at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) as “everyone’s apartment” during today’s inaugural event, which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, speeches and a reception.

The lounge, which includes three sitting rooms, two verandas, a kitchen and a presidential sitting room, is part of GMR Infrastructure Ltd.’s project to expand and upgrade INIA by June 2014. GMR shares the venture with Malaysian Airports Holdings Berhad in a 77 to 33 percent relationship.

The Presidential Lounge offers privacy to government officials.

During a tour of the facility, Mrs Song commented on the facility of working with GMR. “I think its international experience has shaped GMR as a very flexible, open-minded company,” she said.

Tourism Minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa made a similar observation during the opening ceremony, reinforcing her praise of GMR from the earlier opening of INIA’s Plaza Premium Lounge.

“GMR is a company that listens to the stakeholders in the tourism industry, and that pleases the government to no end. I’m always delighted to come to the airport with stakeholders from the industry to open the dialogue for tourism,” she said.

Noting that Plaza Premium was invited to undertake the project only four months ago and with the caveat that the area is due for demolition in two years’ time, Zulfa said the lounge was an impressive and valuable accomplishment.

“Everything to do with the socioeconomic development of the Maldives should center arround tourism,” she said. “Because tourism, of course, is our number one industry, and everything we do should center around making the product even more perfect than it is today.”

The common area features television, wi-fi, and a variety of seating areas.

For a reservation of US$150, VVIP lounge guests are relieved of their luggage at a private security screening while their flights are monitored and their schedules arranged by the lounge concierge. Meanwhile, guests can enjoy an open kitchen and cafe, wi-fi, plasma screen televisions, and spacious seating arrangements.

Plaza Premium Lounge Management Ltd currently services 17 international airports and 60 locations with infrastructural development. The Hong Kong-based company is the world’s first ‘pay-in’ lounge.

Several people noted that the lounge’s opening was well-timed with the SAARC summit, which will bring heads of state from across the region to the Maldives.

Plaza Premium Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Song Hoi See said he did not agree with the project’s constraints but appreciated the challenge.

“Airports and tourism don’t always work together. But the Maldives is a special place, and the airport is the first and last place to impress the tourists,” he said, adding that he anticipated the new airport’s design.

Mrs Song attributed the success to Plaza Premium’s high level of preparation to overcome constraints of the Maldives’ industry. “We are well planned, and we shipped most interior design materials here pre-made. There aren’t many resources here for interior design development, so it would have been difficult otherwise.”

Designer Kinney Chan said the project was enjoyable in spite of the short notice. “It’s great to do something for comfort here, to blend with the resort feel, without getting too heavy.”

GMR CEO Andrew Harrison noted that the design had improved a formerly low-ceiling, dark room by bringing in natural light and creating “a home feel, supported by the excellent service that staff provides.”

“It’s a beautiful country full of beautiful people, and now we’ve delivered a beautiful lounge to match that,” Harrison concluded.

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Employment tribunal orders GMR to reinstate 18 baggage handlers

Eighteen Maldivian GMR employees will be reinstated as permanent baggage handlers at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport and given seven months back pay in a lump sum, the Employment Tribunal has ruled.

The Tribunal found last week that the employees’ temporary contracts, which were terminated in May, had violated rights and benefits conferred upon employees by the Employment Act.

The ruling states the contracts violated company policy, which identified baggage handling as a permanent position but for which workers were only issued temporary contracts.

“The employees were technically working in a permanent position, although they worked under a temporary contract. The Employment Act article 4[a] states that there shall be no differentiation in salaries of employees working in the same level,” said the Tribunal’s ruling.

The Maldives’ Employment Act does not state that temporary contracts themselves are invalid, as was reported by local media. The Act defines a “temporary employee” as someone “working on a day to day basis with no prospect of being made permanent employees.”

The contracts, which were issued by the airport’s former operator Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), were found to violate provisions of the Employment Act.

“The contracts had been issued on a three month basis by [Maldives Airports Company Limited] before GMR took them over,” said a Labor Relations Authority officer. “The Labor Relations Authority found that they did not provide for annual leave or for a Ramazan allowance,” he said.

According to the officer, GMR had been asked to update its temporary contracts in accordance with the Employment Act after employees filed a complaint in January. The contracts were updated as requested, and upon their expiration in May the employees were dismissed and a baggage handling company was hired.

Employment Tribunal Registrar Alia Haneef could not say if GMR’s hiring of a baggage handling company was against any regulation. However, “the previous contracts were invalid,” she said. “Section 13 states that employees who have been working under any form of contract for a total of two years or more are entitled to permanent contracts.”

The employees originally asked the tribunal to order GMR to reimburse them the money they would have received as permanent employees, however the report states that the tribunal was unable to rule on cases older than three months.

The tribunal concluded that GMR was to pay the value of seven months’ salaries and allowances within seven days and to consider the terminated employees as permanently contracted employees.

The case was filed at the tribunal on 27 April, although the order to pay back seven months’ worth of salaries and allowances refers to a start date of January 26. The tribunal’s reports claims this adjustment compensates for the first three months of the case on which it is unable to pass ruling, due to time elapsed.

A GMR spokesperson said the company had not been officially informed of the outcome by the Employment Tribunal and was unable to comment on the matter.

Correction: Previously, the article stated that “the Tribunal found that [the contracts] did not provide for annual leave or a Ramazan allowance.”

It should have stated that, “the Labor Relations Authority found that [the contracts] did not provide for annual leave or a Ramazan allowance.”

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Heavy Load wins land reclamation contract

Heavy Load Maldives has been awarded the land reclamation contract at Hulhumalé following disputes yesterday with GMR, reports Sun Online. A new terminal will be constructed on this site for GMR Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.

GMR declined to reveal the contract value, but confirmed that Heavy Load had received the contract. The project was allegedly delegated to GMR Airport Development Limited, a subsidiary of GMR, before it was awarded to Heavy Load.

The project budget was set at US$20 million, reports Sun.

The first phase of the project is said to reclaim 50 percent of the designated land area. In this phase, one million cubic metres of land area would be carved out of the ocean.

GMR reportedly said that harbour construction has not yet been delegated to any company.

Heavy Load Maldives is a company owned by Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik, the Interim Chairperson of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

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Airport renamed ‘Ibrahim Nasir International Airport’

The Male’ International Airport was renamed ‘Ibrahim Nasir International Airport’ on Independence Day, July 26 in honour of the former President who secured independence from the British.

The airport at Hulhule’ was built through a communal effort led by Nasir, who is widely credited with modernising the country and launching the tourism industry.

Under Nasir, Maldives became the first small state to join the United Nations at a time when the country’s population was below 80,000.

Nasir also introduced English-medium curriculum in schools, introduced radio and television broadcasting and mechanised fishing vessels.

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