Central Hithadhoo MP Ahmed Azaan has submitted a request to the Speaker of Parliament to summon officials from the Maldives Fund Management Corporation (MFMC), citing prolonged delays in the commencement of the Hankede development project in Addu.
The request follows public concern over the lack of progress on the site, despite a high-profile relaunch event held more than a year ago. The ceremony, which took place ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections, marked the latest in a series of attempts to initiate development at Hankede, an area designated for tourism investment.
In his letter to Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla, MP Azaan described the absence of visible progress as troubling, noting that only minor landscaping work — including the relocation of palm trees — appears to have taken place since the relaunch. He has requested that the matter be reviewed by the Parliament’s Committee on State-Owned Enterprises.
The project had previously been awarded to China’s National Electrical Engineering Company during the former administration, before being re-announced under the current government.
The development of Hankede has seen multiple false starts over the past two decades. In its earliest iteration, the project was handed to Thoondu Pvt. Ltd. with an expected completion period of 18 months. The agreement was terminated after the company failed to deliver, and a nominal fine was issued. In 2008, a new agreement was signed with a firm called Half Degree, which constructed a sample room before progress stalled entirely. Later, the Singapore-based Crescendas Group took on the project, unveiling plans to transform the area into a high-end resort. These plans also failed to materialise.
The repeated setbacks have raised questions about project oversight, execution, and accountability. MP Azaan’s move signals an effort to bring renewed parliamentary attention to one of the longest-delayed tourism infrastructure projects in the country.
