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Abu Dhabi loans $40m for Maldives airport expansion

By Pramod Kumar
Adult, Male, Man Wam
Moosa Zameer, finance minister of the Maldives and Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of ADFD at the signing of the loan agreement

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) will provide AED147 million ($40 million) to support the completion of the Velana International Airport project in the Maldives.

This follows a loan of AED183.5 million provided in 2017 for the project’s initial phases, state-run Wam news agency reported.

ADFD’s director general Mohamed Al Suwaidi said the additional support for Velana International Airport would “promote the Maldives’ growth as it increases capacity to meet the rising demand from a thriving tourism sector”.

The airport expansion will increase the number of gates to 26 and add a building for international flights. Total airport capacity is expected to reach 7.5 million passengers annually.

ADFD has been actively supporting and financing many strategic projects in sectors such as transportation, energy, tourism and housing in the Maldives.  

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