By Asian Development Bank
Prior to its
abolition in June 2014, the Maldivian Ministry of Transport and Communications oversaw
all matters relating to transport and communications, including policy making,
and planning of land, maritime, and aviation transport.
The new arrangement included the following:
(1)
transferred administration of regional airports to the Ministry of Tourism;
(2)
placed the Transport Authority under the Ministry of Economic Development; and
(3) placed the Communication Authority of Maldives under the Ministry of Home
Affairs.
The Maldives Civil Aviation Authority was established in 2012 to
develop and administer policies and regulations to ensure a safe, secure, and
orderly air transport sector. While institutional restructuring initiatives
have been implemented, transport sector development remains constrained by the
limited capacity of public agencies and high staff turnover, which has led to
poor planning, including delayed project implementation
Although
problems emerging in air and land transport are less central to addressing connectivity
issues, upgrading of air transport facilities is important to cater to the
expected growth in tourist arrivals and help improve mobility across the
various islands.
Most international
tourist traffic arrives at the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA),
which has only a single runway and is operating near or at its maximum capacity.
One other international airport is located in Gan, but is sparingly used. There
are also seven regional airports strategically located in the northern, central,
and southern parts of the country and a few domestic airports (Table 2.6).
Domestic flights are mainly used to transport tourists to resorts; cargo is transferred
by sea transport. Flight availability is not an issue from Malé to the bigger
atolls as domestic airline service providers have regular flights to the
domestic airports. Air fares are significantly higher than sea fares.
Airport
activity increased significantly during the last 2 decades, driven by the tourism
sector (Figure 2.8). Increase in passengers and cargo handled by the INIA have
been substantial. The government is concerned about whether existing
infrastructure can keep pace with the expected growth of tourism. An earlier projection
suggested passenger traffic in the INIA would reach 3.2 million by 2015, 4.4
million by 2025, and 5.2 million in 2035, well above the current capacity of
3.0 million passengers per annum. Cargo traffic was also projected to increase
sharply between 2005 and 2035—from 39 million kilograms (kg) in 2015 to 56
million kg in 2025 and 76 million kg in 2035 (AECOM and GMD Male International
Airport Pvt. Ltd 2011).
The expansion
of INIA facilities is constrained mainly by the availability of land and
capital. In response to the capital constraint, the government privatized the
INIA in 2010; however, implementation of the 25-year concession agreement with
GMR Group India and Malaysia Airports Berhad consortium was terminated
following a change in government in 2012. The government regained control of
the INIA on 27 November 2012. Although the handover went smoothly, the
government suffered a setback when the international arbitration tribunal
decided in favor of the infrastructure developer, and ruled the concession was
valid and that government was liable to pay the damages. This delayed the
planned airport development and, more importantly, the contract termination
sent a negative signal to prospective investors about the sanctity of contracts
and the rule of law, which are vital underpinnings for attracting large scale
funds from private sources for infrastructure related development.
Image Attribute: Male and it's Ibrahim Nassir Int'l Airport - Satellite Image via Google Earth
About Maldives:
The Maldives,
a chain of 26 coral atolls to India’s southwest, is one of the smallest
countries in Asia and the Pacific by population and land area. Its estimated
341,200 people are widely dispersed over 188 inhabited islands across an
archipelago more than 800 kilometers long and 130 kilometers wide. The capital
city, Malé, is home to one-third of the people, yet has a total land area of
less than 2 square kilometers.
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Publication Details
Title:
Maldives: Overcoming the Challenges of a Small Island State
ISBN
978-92-9257-044-6 (Print), 9 978-92-9257-045-3 (e-ISBN)
Publication Stock
No. RPT157530-2
This
work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY3.0 IGO)
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