The Thaa Atoll Council has met with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to share their concerns about development projects in their region.

The Council, known locally as the Kolhumadulu Council, met with President Solih at the President’s Office on Monday, in the presence of Vilufushi MP Abdulla Riyaz.

Council president Rilwan Abdulla told RaajjeMV that there is a single island resort operating in the atoll, which does not benefit any islands or residents.

Rilwan said that for this reason, the Council had focused primarily on projects that could bolster tourism in the atoll, expressing his trust in tourism’s capacity to build communities.

In 2015, the then government had leased islands to develop two new resorts in Thaa atoll, although the projects have since become implicated in one of the largest corruption scandals in Maldivian history. 

The Council also raised concerns regarding the airport developed in Thimarafushi island, which according to them remains unoperational.

Rilwan said that they had also shared the Council’s plans for development in the atoll this year, to which President Solih had reportedly said the government would support.

President Solih also said that the government intends to take measures in order to bolster tourism in the atoll.

In December, Solih’s cabinet had voted to grant unprecedented authority to local government councils over the resources in their jurisdictions.

The administration has also begun work to restructure the Local Government Authority.