Saudi's Binladin Wins Maldives Airport Contract

Construction firm Saudi Binladin Group has secured a contract to build a new passenger terminal at Maldives airport which is being built at a total cost of USD$800 million.

Binladin will lead the construction of the new terminal on a 78,000 square metre area of reclaimed land in the southwest of the airport island in Maldives, with 12 jetties and six aero-bridges. The white sand beaches and turquoise waters of the Maldives attracted 1.2 million tourists in 2015.

Maldives government officials declined to comment on the size of the contract with Binladin.

The project is estimated to cost around USD$800 million in total, with the Maldives seeking funding from the China EXIM Bank, the Kuwait Fund, Abu Dhabi Fund, and the Saudi Fund for Development, the government said in a statement.