Kulhudhuffushi airport may displace 130 households

An estimated 130 households may have to relocate for the construction of an airport on northern Kulhudhuffushi Island.

Blueprints shared with the Kulhudhffushi Island Council show 80 plots of land will be seized for construction. But Council President Ali Mohamed said they expect to relocate an additional 50 households, as buildings cannot be constructed to heights desired by homeowners in plots adjacent to the airport.

Establishing an airport on the most populous island in the north was a key campaign pledge of President Abdulla Yameen, although with a regional airport on Hanimadhoo Island – just 16.5 km or a 30 minute dhoni ride from Kulhudhuffushi, critics have questioned the feasibility and economic viability of the venture.

Environmental groups have also called the project unconstitutional, as it requires the dredging of the island’s only remaining mangrove.