Malé, Maldives – Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer, today, said that the Maldives GDP will double and jump to USD 10 billion in the upcoming years.
Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony between the government of Maldives and Afcons Infrastructure Limited for the Greater Malé Connectivity Project (GMCP), Ameer assured that the Maldives GDP will increase two fold within the next few years.
Regarding this, Minister Ameer said that in 2019, the Maldives’ real GDP was USD 5 billion with 1.7 tourist arrivals. With the addition of new development projects, the Finance Minister forecasts that the tourist arrivals will double and increase the GDP exponentially.
With the completion of development project including the capacity and harbour expansion at the Velana International Airport, upgrades to internal transport infrastructure, the GMCP and new resort developments, the Maldives [GDP] will jump to USD 10 billion.
Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer
Minister Ameer emphasized that the current project must be continued, regardless of the Covid-19 impacts faced by the nation at present since the economy is recovering. Ameer added that projects that are funded must continue with the low interest rates and such opportunities must not be squandered.
We are sure that we can pay back the increased debt due to the current development projects.
Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer
Statistics from March 2021, show that India will be giving a total of MVR 7,836 million as bilateral grants within the period of 2012 till 2023 making it the largest donor country to the Maldives. Out of this, a total of MVR 7,754.1 million will be given between 2018 and 2023. The EXIM bank line of credit has an interest rate of 1.5 percent, a grace period of 5 years and must be paid fully by 15 years.
