The Parliament's Committee of the Whole House on Thursday approved an amendment to the Tourism Act, shortening the payment period for extending the lease of land or islands allocated for tourist resort construction to a maximum of 50 years.
The amendment, proposed by MP Abdullah Rasheed on behalf of the government, includes revisions to Article 9 of the Tourism Act, including changes previously ratified on December 27, 2020. This marks the 13th amendment to the act.
During Thursday's Parliament session, the bill was debated and subsequently referred to the Committee of the Whole House for further consideration.
In the Whole House Committee, Funadhoo MP Mohamed Mamdhooh said the bill had been extensively debated in the parliament and noted that there was broad consensus among members on the amendments. Therefore, he proposed that the amendment be passed by the committee without further debate. Mamdhooh's motion was supported by Baarah MP Ibrahim Shujau.
However, Hithadhoo South MP and minority leader Ibrahim Nazil expressed concerns about the bill's swift progression and questioned the committee's Chair, Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla regarding the bill's objectives. In his response, MP Abdul Raheem emphasized that the committee's work was ongoing and refrained from providing further clarification.
Article 9(c) of the Act currently mandates a payment of US$100,000 per year for lease extensions of up to 50 years, with the payment to be settled within two years. However, the new amendment shortens this payment period to six months from the date of adoption of the amendment. If the payment is made after this six-month window, the fee increases to US$200,000 for each additional year. The amendment offers tourism establishments the opportunity to pay a lower fee if they agree to settle the lease payment within the shorter, six-month timeframe.
The committee passed the bill with 76 votes in favor.
