Maldives airport operator praises “smooth” handover as government remains undecided on INIA future
09 Dec 2012, 8:06 PM
Neil Merrett
The Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has said there has been no disruption to services at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) after it resumed management of the site from infrastructure group GMR on Saturday (December 8 ) – a claim backed by several resort operators and airlines.
Indian-based GMR yesterday handed INIA over to the state-owned Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) after the Maldivian government had voided its concession agreement, giving the company seven days to leave the country.
The sudden eviction of the developer – which won a 25 year concession under the former government to manage and upgrade the airport – scraps the project, which at US$511 million was the single largest foreign investment in the Maldives.
Upon reclaiming management of the airport yesterday, MACL Managing Director Mohamed Ibrahim told Minivan News that the handover had gone “smoothly”, with INIA continuing to operate over the last 24 hours as it had done under GMR.
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