New passenger terminal at Maldives international airport
View(s):Saudi’s largest construction group – Saudi Bin Ladin Group (SBG), founded by the father of slain al-Queda leader Osama Bin Laden, has been awarded the contract to build a new passenger terminal in the Maldives, according to media reports from Male. The terminal on completion in 2018 will cater to more than seven million passengers from a current 2-3 million. The contract for the new terminal was signed on Sunday between Managing Director of Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) – Adhil Moosa, and SBG representative – Abdul Aziz Bin Laden.
The slain militant leader was disowned by the Bin Ladin family in 1993, media reports said.
The Saudi firm which is building the Jeddah Tower, which at 1008 metres will – on completion in 2019 – be the tallest in the world, was founded in 1931 by Sheikh Mohamed Bin Ladin. Speaking at the signing ceremony Mr. Moosa said the terminal will be built on a 78,000 square meter area and have 40 departure gates, 38 immigration counters, 12 shaded jetties, six aero bridges which can be converted to four bridges, state of the art baggage screening and baggage service belts and a high explosives detection system . Last month, President Abdulla Yameen unveiled an ambitious plan to develop the country’s main international airport, which would include a 65-metre-wide runway, with US$800 million worth of foreign loans.
Arrivals in the Maldives, which has enchanted visitors from far and wide, grew only marginally by 2.4 per cent to 1.2 million last year with similar growth expected this year. Growth has been affected by a slowdown in the Chinese market, the country’s largest source, with arrivals falling to 79,312 in January-March 2016 from 88,887 in the same 2015 months. Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed, speaking at the event, was quoted as saying that annual earnings from the tourism sector, with the opening of 50 resorts in a 5-year period, will rise to nearly to $ 5 billion.
He said that currently with 26,500 beds and a 65 percent occupancy rate, the sector was generating $ 3.2 billion annually.