Three uninhabited islands near Komandoo island have been removed from the list of islands open for tourism development lease.
The government initially announced 18 islands for sale at an investment forum held at the Dubai Expo last year. Sh. Dhigurah, Mairah, and Medhurah were not among the islands that were initially announced. Right ahead of the Komandoo by-election held earlier this month, the government added the three islands to the list of islands up for lease, increasing the total number of islands to 21.
While the three islands have now been removed from the list, the move comes while the Civil Court has ordered to pause the sale of the three islands in question. The order was issued in relation to a case filed at the court by a company called Premier Equity.
The case filed by Premier Equity said the government agreed to lease Sh. Dhigurah, Sh. Mairah, and Sh. Medhurah to the company under a settlement agreement. They asked the court to halt the sale of the islands until the court reached a ruling on the matter.
As per the case filed at the court, the government agreed to give the three islands to Premier Equity in exchange for L. Gasfinolhu and L. Bodufinolhu, which were leased to the company for resort development. As the islands had private property on them, the resort development work could not be implemented, due to which a settlement agreement had to be reached. However, the State said no official documents state that the islands were given to the company due to the issues that arose in 2008.
The Civil Court order said if the three islands in question are leased to another party before the court reaches a decision, the damage caused to Premier Equity will be significant. Therefore, the court ordered the Tourism Ministry to stall the island's lease until the court concluded the case.
