Vice President Faial Naseem says tourism and transportation are the basis of the Maldivian economy.
The Vice President made this remark while speaking at the commencement ceremony of Velana International Airport's (VIA) new runway and the 'Noovilu Seaplane Terminal'.
The Vice President emphasized the importance of VIA to the Maldivian people and described it as the main economic hub of the Maldives. He added that it was one of the state's most valuable assets.
In his speech, the Vice President noted that VIA was being developed in accordance with the master plan of the airport. He also highlighted some of the operational details of the new runway, fuel farm, passenger terminals, and seaplane terminal at the airport. He stated that the airport's operations and services ran uninterrupted, despite the tremendous development project.
The Vice President also spoke about the importance of the seaplane terminal. He said that, once the tourists disembark from their international flights, they board the seaplanes to reach their destinations.
The Vice President stated that the Maldives’ seaplane fleet makes approximately 600 flights a day and that the new seaplane terminal would drastically improve the operations and the customer experience.
Vice President Faisal Naseem emphasized the need for human development to be carried out in conjunction with airport development. He also elaborated on the government's initiatives to upgrade transport networks across the Maldives’ atolls.
