Majlis rejects emergency motion on airport allocation to foreign entities

The emergency motion submitted to bring to the government's attention the issue of efforts to hand over important areas of the Maldives' largest airport, Velana International Airport (VIA) to foreign entities has been rejected without allowing it to be presented to the People’s Majlis.

On Monday, the Speaker of the People's Majlis, Abdul Raheem Abdulla, who was presiding over the sitting, stated that the opportunity to present the emergency motion could not be given. Abdul Raheem said that the opportunity was not given because it was not an emergency motion submitted based on facts.

In the emergency motion submitted by MP Ziyad, it was stated that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu came to power with a presidential promise of building a "Maldives for Maldivians" free from foreign influence, favorable to Maldivians, and that he would not give any work that Maldivians can do to any foreigners, and that giving valuable Maldivian assets and resources to foreign parties is treason to the nation.

Further, it was noted that even after taking the oath of office, the government has repeatedly advocated that all its decisions will always prioritize promoting nationalism and working under the "Maldives First" policy.

In addition to this, the motion highlighted that news has been circulating about Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) working to give the newly developed CIP terminal at Velana International Airport (VIA), the largest and most important airport in the Maldives, to a Dubai-based company called JETEX for 25 years. This includes the operation of the terminal, ground handling of jets arriving in the Maldives, fuel sales, and all other related services.

The first point noted regarding the issue is that such an important facility should only be handed over to a foreign party if the government lacks the capacity to establish the necessary infrastructure and other resources, and only to a party that will invest their own money to establish such resources. In the case, there is no need for construction as the facility is already built, indicating that foreign investment is not necessary.

The second point is that such a service should only be outsourced to a foreign party if Maldivian companies or individuals lack the capability to perform the task or if it's beyond the capacity of Maldivians. However, Maldivians are prepared to operate this facility, and skilled Maldivians are currently providing these services. Therefore, there is no need to bring in foreigners for this task. The motion suggests that the decision is being made for illegitimate benefits by some individuals in MACL or the government.

Ziyad highlighted three potential losses due to this decision:

Threat to national security:

Handing over such an important part of the Maldives' largest and most important airport to foreigners could limit the opportunity to monitor people and goods entering and leaving the country. It could also pose security risks as information about private jet visitors would be in foreign hands.

Impact on state revenue:

Outsourcing the terminal to a foreign company would result in MACL losing current and projected future revenue. Based on last year's figures, MACL could lose at least USD seven million, as JETEX is proposing to pay only USD five million to MACL, while last year's revenue was at least USD 12 million.

Increase in USD scarcity due to more dollars leaving the country:

Currently, the dollar revenue from the terminal operation stays within the Maldives, with a large portion going directly to the state and the Maldivian financial system. However, if given to a foreign company, a significant amount of dollars would be taken out of the country monthly, potentially exacerbating the dollar shortage.

Based on last year's figures, it's estimated that over a 25-year period, the total loss could amount to USD 175 million. Consequently, it's very likely that USD 350 million, which is double the estimated loss, could leave the country.