Opposition leader and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson Fayyaz Ismail has sharply criticised the 2014 decision to terminate the Velana International Airport (VIA) development agreement, under which the terminal was to be constructed and operated at no cost to the state. He described the move as “preposterous” and “politically motivated”, saying it had led to significant and lasting economic damage.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, Fayyaz said the cancellation of the contract with India’s GMR Group—terminated during former President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s administration—forced the state to borrow heavily to fund the project, saddling the country with long-term debt obligations.
“The decision to terminate the Velana International Airport development agreement—when a party was contracted to build and operate the airport at no cost to the state—to the detriment of the state, and then to borrow money while the state was deep in debt, was a preposterous one and was taken for political purposes,” Fayyaz wrote. “Today, a significant portion of the country’s debt is tied to the airport. This stands as one of the most reckless decisions ever made by a Maldivian leader.”
The former economic minister added that the reversal closed off avenues to raise funds for other essential needs of the Maldivian people. “If that had not been done in 2014, and the debts had not been incurred, the number of tourists visiting the Maldives today would have exceeded four million. The country’s GDP would be twice as high,” he said.
Fayyaz estimated economic losses at US$60 billion and said the responsibility lies with “the individual who inflicted this damage on the Maldives while pretending to be a superior economist.” He called it “the economic thinking of ‘frontonomics’,” referring to former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s economic stance that opposed the original agreement.
“Should this huge loss of hundreds of billions of dollars to the economy and the entire state be celebrated as a victory?” he asked. “And now, with the airport still not fully completed and millions of dollars being spent in the name of opening it, wouldn’t it be more important to fully complete the airport?”
Fayyaz’s remarks followed a post by former President Mohamed Nasheed, who also weighed in on the broader stakes of the VIA expansion. Nasheed underlined the potential of the new terminal to drive tourism growth and fiscal recovery, but cautioned against equating visible infrastructure with genuine development.
“If you are mesmerised by concrete, glass, and plastic and consider it development, that’s a narrow view,” Nasheed wrote. “The new terminal at Velana Airport will be beautiful—much like the saying goes: a knife is only beautiful if it is sharp. If it leads to more tourist arrivals, boosts the economy, increases state revenue, and helps escape the debt trap, then yes, Velana Airport is very beautiful.”
While differing in tone, both Nasheed and Fayyaz pointed to the airport’s importance in unlocking long-term growth. They questioned the costly detour taken to reach this point—particularly with the project still incomplete and spending continuing to rise.
The new passenger terminal is part of a broader expansion of Velana International Airport, launched under President Yameen. On 22 May 2016, the construction contract for the terminal was awarded to Saudi Arabia’s Bin Laden Group for US$350 million. The terminal was initially scheduled for completion in 2018.
Since then, successive governments have borrowed approximately US$812 million (MVR 12.5 billion) to finance the airport expansion. The subsequent MDP government had aimed to complete the terminal by the end of 2022.
Once finished, the terminal is expected to more than double the airport’s passenger handling capacity, enabling it to serve up to 7.5 million travellers annually. The airport is widely regarded as a critical node for the Maldives’ tourism-driven economy.