MPL CEO: Plans underway to establish an international 'Seafood Hub' in Addu City

Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) CEO Ahmed Wajeeh Ibrahim has stated that there are plans to establish an international 'Seafood Hub' in Addu City.

He made these remarks while sharing his vision for the development of Maldivian ports at a ceremony held today to launch offshore bunkering services in the northernmost part of the Maldives.

In his speech, he noted that the port in Addu Atoll, the southernmost part of the Maldives, is currently operating at a loss, and that he wants to bring about a major change to make it profitable.

"Just having a port is not enough. If vessels calling at the port do not go there, what is the purpose of a port? There has been a port in Addu and Kulhudhuffushi for 19 years. They are operating at a loss with MPL spending on them. So this is not a business. A business is something done by operating profitably," Wajeeh said.

Wajeeh further stated that finding a way to make the Addu port profitable is the responsibility of those in charge, and that the current government's vision is to reshape the Addu port in a different way to make it profitable. In this regard, instead of relying on just one thing for profit, they are looking into what else can be done to generate more revenue for the port and are considering introducing additional services, he said.

In his speech, Wajeeh noted that fishing has been done in a certain way in the Maldives for a long time, and said that all this time, all the seafood required for resorts in the Maldives has been imported from abroad. Therefore, while looking into ways to generate profit for the Addu port, he said there are plans to establish an international seafood hub in Addu City.

"We are shifting this mindset to establish an international seafood hub in Addu Atoll. The idea to do this came about because a study conducted by a major global organisation related to this shows that the most important area to operate an international fish hub in the Asian continent, even in this region, is the Addu Hithadhoo area. So we are working with the intention of securing the benefits of this for this country," Wajeeh said.

Wajeeh said that the bunkering service launched today in the north will bring good progress to the Maldivian economy. For the first time in Maldivian history, STO started providing bunkering services today in collaboration with MPL. While STO sells fuel, MPL will provide all the maritime services required by the vessels buying the fuel.