Male Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) has been tasked to establish temporary water and sewerage systems at the integrated guesthouse island project of Baresdhoo.
An agreement was signed on Sunday by project developer Maldives Integrated Tourism Development Corporation (MITDC) and MWSC. MITDC Managing Director Mohamed Shahid and MWSC Managing Director Fazul Rasheed signed the agreement.
Fazul told journalists that the MVR 1.5 million (USD 973,65) project involves setting up a 50-tonne RO plant and a 70-tonne storage tank. The project will be completed in 30-45 days, he added.
“These temporary systems will facilitate the contractors. We’re already talking with the relevant authorities to set up permanent water and sewerage systems at Baresdhoo,” Fazul said.
Shahid stressed that 30 plots have already been awarded to interested parties to develop guesthouses. Land plots allocated for the development of hotels will be handed over to interested parties in the next two to three months, he added.
State tourism promotion company Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has earlier announced the sale of 16 land plots from Baresdhoo, which is the first ever integrated guesthouse development in the Maldives.
However, MITDC last year took over the project from MMPRC and changed it to a rental business model.
According to MITDC, the 75-hectare island of Baresdhoo in Laamu atoll will have restaurants, cafes, bars, a spa, a theme park, a theatre, a golf course, a botanical garden and a dive centre to support the guesthouses and hotels. Construction will be completed within 18 months of commencement, it said.
MMPRC has earlier built the island’s harbour and joined a small nearby island to Baresdhoo. A local company has also been contracted to build the road network of the island.
Government’s foray into guesthouse business comes amid a significant increase in the number of guesthouses across the archipelago. Some 450 guesthouses have started operations over the past five years as the number of travellers that choose to stay in guesthouses is on the rise.