Levy charges for development of Male airport to be allowed: Nasheed

Male, Dec 19 (PTI) Maldives President Mohammad Nasheed today assured the GMR-led consortium that his government would soon bring legislation to allow the Indian company levy development charges on the Male airport it is upgrading, even as he promised foreign investors that the Maldives government would stand by every agreement. "Government will be 200 per cent behind every contract. Any agreement that any government of Maldives signed, we are here to honour it," Nasheed said, while pitching in for greater foreign investment in his picturesque country that relies heavily on tourism for its income. GMR, which is upgrading the Male International Airport that includes building a new terminal, faced a blow in a Maldives court recently when the court responding to an opposition party plea struck down the company's move to levy a USD 25 as airport development charges per outgoing traveller. However, the Maldivian President said at the ground breaking ceremony for the new airport, that India had stood as the best development partner for his country, and it will go all out to ensure the work of the Indian company is not hindered. The court had ruled that the concession agreement with GMR had violated a clause in the Airport Development Charges Act of 1978 that was amended in 2009 to fix the fee levied on foreign passengers at USD 18. The legislature will be required to raise that limit to allow GMR go ahead with its plans. "A legislation would be taken up soon in the parliament, we have a clear majority in the parliament and I don't see any problem with that. We will have the necessary legislation. I don’t see an issue at all," the President told Indian journalists after the ceremony. Playing down concerns over issues faced by foreign investors, he said though there was a tendency with the opposition "to make noise" and "sound a little xenophobic", the country at large understands the importance of foreign investment for its economy. "I want to assure Indian people and companies that this does not reflect the sentiments of all people, most opposition leaders who are making noise are working in self interest," he said. The Male airport is being upgraded by the GMR-Malaysia Airports consortium which is using the company's experience in developing airports like Delhi and Hyderabad in India and in Turkey, to build "world class" infrastructure here. "This is a momentous day for us, if we go in the history of this airport, Indian assistance to its development has been very important," Nasheed said. The USD 500 million airport development project is scheduled to be completed by 2014, when the new terminal will start operating. PTI