Development officially commences for the new seaplane terminal at Velana International Airport (VIA).
The new seaplane terminal is located at the land behind the Air Traffic Control Tower. The groundbreaking ceremony of the terminal took place on 29th January 2018, and was commenced by Economic Minister, Mohamed Saeed. Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives, and senior officials of Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG), who is leading the seaplane terminal project, also attended the ceremony.
The new runway at VIA is also headed by BUCG.
Managing Director of Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL), Mr Adil Moosa stated that Maldives has the biggest seaplane operations in the world. He also stated that VIA has various projects underway and all the projects are part of a master plan. The seaplane terminal is a very important part of the master plan.
“The new seaplane terminal can be expanded later on. We are working towards developing the airport to accommodate 7 million passengers”, said Adil.
Adil also explained that development for the new fuel farm and VIP complex will start in February 2018.
MACL stated that the new seaplane terminal will have more than 80 docking platforms and the floor area, as well as the lounge and boarding gate will be 50 percent bigger than the current seaplane terminal. The new seaplane terminal have an arrival lobby, and VIP service will also be provided, both of which are unavailable at the current seaplane terminal.
