President Dr Mohamed Waheed today inaugurated Villa International Airport in Maamigili island of South Ari atoll.
The Airport was officially opened with the unveiling of the name board of Villa International Airport by the President.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Waheed said he was greatly honored to inaugurate the airport and thanked the Chairman of Villa Group, Mr Gasim Ibrahim.
He said the opening of the airport would open new opportunities for the people of Maamigili and the region.
The President added that the opening of the airport would contribute to the growth of the country’s economy as well as the aviation sector. He also said a major objective of making the airport an international airport was to improve the country’s transport network and the tourism industry.
He said with the broadening of the tourism sector, easy transportation means across the country would contribute immensely to the industry. Furthermore, he said, the growth of the tourism industry has also increased the number of private jets coming in to Maldives. Therefore, he said, it was important to have more aircraft parking facilities other than in Hulhule’ airport. He expressed confidence that the Villa International Airport would have such facilities in the future.
