Nine airports that were being operated by Regional Airports have been handed over to Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL). The Cabinet decided to transfer the Regional Airports Company under MACL on September 1st of last year. The government decided to transfer the Regional Airports Company under MACL as part of its policy to reduce state expenditure. MACL stated that they have taken over the 9 airports that were being operated by Regional Airports. MACL also mentioned that they took over these airports two weeks ago. MACL said that when they took over these airports, their condition was very poor, and the current work being done is to assess the condition of these airports. The company also stated that they are now in the process of purchasing equipment needed for the development of the airports.
Although MACL has taken over all the operations of the Regional Airports Company, the process of dissolving the company is not yet complete. The government says that merging the Regional Airports Company with MACL will reduce costs and further strengthen airport operations. The Minister of Economic Development, Mohamed Saeed, said that the economic reform efforts undertaken by the government to put the Maldivian economy on the right track are widely accepted by international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank.
