Finance Minister Moosa Zameer has expressed concern over the Hajj Corporations’ plans to develop a city hotel in K. Maafushi.
Last month, the Hajj Corporation’s Managing Director Mohamed Shakeel disclosed at the Parliament’s Government Oversight Committee that the corporation intended to construct a city hotel in Maafushi. He said the government aimed to make the corporation a profit-generating company, which would in turn reduce Hajj costs for citizens. While the best way to do this is to enter the real estate market, he said a sizable plot has already been secured from Maafushi for the purpose, and that the city hotel would be operated as a halal tourism facility under a subsidiary between the corporation and the Maafushi Council.
Responding to a question by Velidhoo MP Mohamed Abbas at Tuesday’s Parliament sitting, Minister Zameer said the Hajj Corporation’s board must consider if a tourism venture is the most beneficial use of its resources.
‘If they have funds, and if specialists are hired to manage the funds and generate profit for the corporation, the outcome will be very successful,’ he said.
Zameer noted that there are government companies that the corporation can invest in if it wants to invest in the tourism sector. He warned that the outcome could be detrimental if multiple state companies developed guesthouses and resorts.
