The Ministry of Tourism has, for a second time, announced an invitation for bids to develop a tourist resort on Nalandhoo island in Shaviyani Atoll. The current administration chose to terminate the previous lease, with compensation, of Nalandhoo, which had been leased for a number of years for sea-cucumber farming, and repurpose the island into a tourism development project.
The administration initiated the process as a result of consultations President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had with island councils, when he visited Shaviyani Atoll in 2021.
The announcement inviting bids for Nalandhoo was first made in August this year at the same time as for Medhafushi island in Haa Alifu Atoll. Ruhthibirah, an island in Thaa Atoll, was later added to the list.
While it is unclear why the call for bids for Nalandhoo has been renewed, investor interest in resort development appears to have cooled recently with sparse bid submissions and fewer lease handovers during the past year.