The Ministry of Tourism has announced the opening of bidding for the development operation and management of tourist resorts, in 14 islands.

The announcement was made via a publication on Monday.

Included among the islands opened for bidding by the tourism ministry are some islands that were opened for bidding earlier.

Eligible investors, local or foreign, are invited to submit their interest to develop a tourist resort in the publicized list of uninhabited islands or plot of lagoons before March 21.

As such, interested parties are invited to attend a series of information sessions scheduled to be held virtually through ZOOM at 10am on February 6 and March 5.

The sessions will be held at 10am on March 28 for islands in Haa Alif, Haa Dhaal, Raa and Kaafu atolls with sessions to be held at 10am on March 29 for Meemu, Faafu and Thaa atoll bids.

Further, a session will also be held at 10am on March 30 for bidding in Gaaf Alif and Gaaf Dhaal atolls.

Interested individuals will be required to send an email requesting to join the information sessions along with their names and email address before 12pm on February 5 and March 2, respectively.

The ministry highlighted that application forms to acquire the bid document may be obtained from their website.

The bid document will be available for purchase from the 5th floor of Velaanaage where the tourism ministry is located, from Monday through March 21 from 9am to 1pm, except for government holidays.

Fereythavilin’gili in Gaaf Dhaal atoll has been opened for bidding for USD 700,000 or MVR 10.7 million.

Moreover, the 10.9 hectares of Medhafushi island in Haa Alif atoll comes at an acquisition cost of USD 875,000 or MVR 13.5 million.

The ministry has also invited bids for the lagoon of Olhufushi island in Thaa atoll which comes at an acquisition cost of USD 700,000 or MVR 10.7 million.

The other islands for which bids have been invited include, Eh’thigili in Raa atoll, -with 10 hectares from R. Alifushi lagoon- Alidhuffarufinolhu in Haa Alif atoll, Beyramauddoo in Gaaf Alif atoll, Funadhooviligilla in Gaaf Alif atoll, Kalhehuttaa in Gaaf Dhaal atoll, Boahura in Meemu atoll as well as Haadhuaa in Gaaf Dhaal atoll.

The acquisition cost for these islands ranges from USD 500,000 to USD 200,000.

The islands earlier opened for bidding, were reopened due to non-fulfilment of the eligibility criteria and non-availability of bids.

According to the selection criteria for the islands that have been opened for auction, 60 percent points will be awarded to the highest bidder.

The tourism ministry will be considering the training of employees while awarding points, on environmental and renewable energy priorities.

Out of the 14 islands opened for bidding, the highest amount of acquisition cost has to be paid for lagoons in Kaafu atoll Kaashidhoo and Nilandhoo.

The ministry noted that a 10-hectare area of Kaashidhoo lagoon and 10 hectares from Nilandhoo lagoon have been earmarked for the development of resorts.

An acquisition cost of a minimum of USD 2.2 million is required to be offered for the two regions.

The 14 islands are open for bidding through an open bidding process.

The publication comes not too long after the ministry initially announced the decision to open bids for new resort development projects, on Sunday.

As such, the ministry revealed that the focus on Thiladhunmathi coincides with the project to redevelop Hanimaadhoo International Airport, inaugurated by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih alongside India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on January 18.

The ministry noted that the Hanimaadhoo International Airport redevelopment project will pave the way for massive economic progress in the region, with which 8,000 more tourist beds will be needed in the coming years for the airport to function smoothly without any disruptions or issues.

The tourism ministry highlighted that the new projects underway include three island projects in Haa Alif atoll and Haa Dhaal atoll, one island project in Meemu atoll, one project with two islands of Thaa atoll, two projects of two islands in Gaaf Alif atoll, three projects of six islands in Gaaf Dhaal atoll, one plot of lagoon project from Kaafu atoll, two projects of plots of lagoon in Faafu atoll and one project of one island with a lagoon plot from Raa atoll.

The Hanimaadhoo Airport development project was handed over to India's JMC Projects on September 25 last year and it was priced at USD 136.6 million.

The development project will be carried out from the USD 800 million line of credit scheme provided by the government of India.

Under the project, the existing 1.8-kilometer runway of the airport will be expanded to 2.24-kilometer. The project also includes construction of two taxiways that are 164 meters long, 34 meters wide, and 5.5 meters on either side, a 10,230-square meter building including land and seaside connectivity and passenger facilities, an apron measuring approximately 58,000 square meters as well as the establishment of a passenger terminal suitable for the operations of code aircraft.

With the development, Hanimaadhoo International Airport will be able to welcome Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircrafts.

The Hanimaadhoo International Airport development project is a presidential pledge of President Solih.

According to Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail, the development project is anticipated to be completed within 2024.