MACL takes USD 40M loan to refinance partial cost of new terminal at Velana Airport

MACL Managing Director Ibrahim Shareef Mohamed. (Photo/MACL)

Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has taken a USD 40 million (MVR 618 million) syndicated loan from Sri Lankan banks to refinance a portion of the capital expenditure incurred to build the new international passenger terminal at the Velana International Airport (VIA).

Sri Lankan newspapers report that NDB Investment Bank Limited (NDBIB) acted as the exclusive financial advisor and arranger to raise the funds for MACL.

According to reports, the funds were mobilized through a syndicated financing structure, with Hatton National Bank PLC serving as the lead bank and facility agent, alongside Nations Trust Bank PLC and Habib Bank Limited of Maldives as the other lead banks.

Sri Lanka’s Daily Financial Times reports that the proceeds will be utilized to refinance a portion of the capital expenditure incurred for the construction and development of the new international passenger terminal that opened at the Maldives national airport in July last year.

The MACL has yet to provide a statement on the loan.

The development of the new terminal, which can accommodate 7.5 million passengers annually, took nine years and cost around MVR 7 billion to complete.

Passengers at the new international passenger terminal at Velana International Airport. (Photo/MACL)

It opened to record-breaking fireworks on July 26, 2025, as part of Maldives’ 60th Independence Day celebrations.

The construction of the terminal was contracted to the Saudi Binladin Group in 2016, during former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration, with around MVR 5.3 billion in financing from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).

Yameen’s predecessor, former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih tapped into another MVR 386 million credit line to change the terminal’s design and continue the project.

And in 2023, before he took office, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu travelled to Abu Dhabi and secured another MVR 1.2 billion (USD 78 million) in financing.

The Maldives has a staggering USD 1.1 billion in debt repayments due this year, including a USD 500 million block payment due in April.