The Maldivian government has made the decision to terminate the resort development agreement for Odagallaa island of Gaaf Alif atoll.
The project was contracted to Hotels and Resort Construction (HRC) during former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom's administration.
During a press conference held by the Tourism Ministry on Sunday, Minister Ali Waheed stated that the company has been ordered to cease all operations on the project. The government will be deliberating on how to compensate the company for damages on the counsel of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
The government met with a lot of criticism when the island was taken under Tourism Ministry for resort development. Minister Waheed said the current government will govern the nation in such a way that the trust and faith of the citizens as well as foreign ministers have in the government are maintained.
"The Tourism Ministry believes that our foremost priority should be to working with the citizens, in such a way that the trust the citizens have placed in the government is not lost. Our target is to ensure that our actions do not damage the trust our foreign investors have in us", he said.
The decision comes after the development proposal of Odagallaa resort was rejected by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) earlier the same day. The report issued by the agency stated that the fishing sector would be negatively effected both socially and economically if a resort is established in Odagallaa island.
