President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has officially inaugurated the new cargo terminal at the Velana International Airport (VIA).

President Dr. Muizzu officially inaugurated the new cargo terminal at VIA, on Monday evening.

Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef and senior government officials also attended the opening ceremony of the new cargo terminal held at Velana International Airport.

Following the inauguration of the new terminal, President Muizzu carried out inspections.

A megaproject to develop the Velana International Airport and Economic Zone, was inaugurated by the president on 4 January 2024, in a bid to cater to 25 million passengers.

Taking the podium at the event, President Muizzu noted that the inauguration of the megaproject symbolizes the aspirations of every Maldivian citizen.

Highlighting that the development phase would run simultaneously with the previous one, the president said that once completed, the original capacity objective of seven million will be increased to 25 million passengers.

Further, he announced that the initial phase of the megaproject is set to kick off within 2024.

Most of the work under the project is scheduled to be completed within Muizzu’s five-year presidential term.

The president said that significant developments will be observed within the next 10 years as well.

A component of the development project at Velana International Airport was the construction of a new cargo terminal. This cargo terminal has the capacity to service three times more cargo compared to the previous facility.

With the new cargo terminal's construction, the capacity of the previous terminal, which was 50,000 tonnes, will increase to a total of 120,000 tonnes of cargo service per year.

This new cargo terminal equips environmentally friendly vehicles with more updated amenities.

A three-story office building with 55 office spaces for airlines and brokers is also located at the new cargo terminal. 

The initial phase of the project mark the beginning of the relocation work of the seaplane terminal, and initiating the development of the domestic terminal to serve 2,000 passengers per hour which will in turn improve cargo facilities as well as the relocation of the fuel storage facility out of Funadhoo island and repurposing the island to develop as an international financial hub.

In addition to this, President Muizzu shed light on future development prospects of connecting Funadhoo, capital city Malé and Hulhulé via a bridge and Hulhulé and Hulhumalé to the seaplane terminal.