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Photo: Addu Live
A state owned corporation has unveiled plans to re-develop the Dhoogas guesthouse in the southernmost Addu atoll with 120 beds.
At a ceremony held to unveil the development concept, Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) CEO Abdul Razzaq Haleem said the property would be developed in two phases, with the first phase involving 40 rooms. The first phase will come into operation in five months, he added.
“Rest of the rooms will be developed in the second phase,” Haleem said.
Dhoogas, located in the airport island of Gan in Addu, was used for official purposes during former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s administration.
President Mohamed Nasheed’s government had in 2009 awarded the property to MVK, which was tasked to provide transport services in Addu. The company, however, ran into financial trouble and ceased operations.
Incumbent government had in 2016 handed over Dhoogas to MPL, which provides transport services in the southern atolls of Addu and Fuvahmulah.
Maldives, known world over for its upmarket tourism industry, has resorts in the hundreds spread across the archipelago. The industry has in recent years expanded to introduce more affordable segments, including guesthouses and liveaboards.
Despite several new resort developments and a boom in guesthouse tourism in the Maldives, Addu as a whole has lagged behind for years in attracting tourism-related investments. The relatively large atoll, which has unique geographical features compared to other parts of the island nation, is home to only two of the some 120 tourist resorts in the Maldives; Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa, and Canareef Resort Maldives.
However, tourism in the south has recently received a much needed boost from the launch of direct flights to Gan International Airport by SriLankan Airlines.
Neighbouring Sri Lanka’s flagship carrier, which is particularly popular amongst tourists who travel to the Maldives from Europe, currently operates six weekly flights to Gan from Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo.
Meanwhile, government has launched an ambitious project, which is expected to cost USD20-25 million, in a bid to add 3,000 tourist tourist beds to Addu.
Source URL: Maldives Insider
