Faafu Atoll Project Would Have Been Bigger Than Any In South Asia: Yameen

The opposition leader, former President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayyoom has stated that the Faafu Atoll project which was planned to be undertaken by certain members of the Saudi royal family was bigger than any other project to be found in South Asia.

During a special interview given to Channel 13, the former President mentioned that the Saudi government was not behind the project planned for Hithimee (Faafu Atoll), but was rather a project planned by certain members of the Saudi royal family and their respective business partners.

He noted that the legislation on Special Economic Zones that he had introduced during his administration had been produced in consultation with international experts. He said that the objective of such a piece of legislation was to provide all of the certainty and security required by parties wishing to make massive investments in the Maldives. He also mentioned that another objective of the law was to provide a legally-mandated term for land leases, as well.

He compared the project for Faafu Atoll to projects in the French Riviera and Montenegro, and had stated that the project would have brought big changes to the Maldives and the surrounding region. He said that although the SEZ legislation was borne out of the Himithee project, the second major project that had been planned to be run under that law would have been i-Haven; a similarly large project.

He said that the Faafu Atoll project fell apart due to the work of the then-opposition, comprised of the current MDP-led ruling coalition. He said that many people had mischaracterised the project as "selling off" Maldivian lands.

He said that a SEZ law was required for large infrastructural development. He said that the former opposition did not oppose the Faafu Atoll project because of any flaw in the project itself, but rather because he was working towards something that they had failed to achieve.