Parliamentary Officials Assess Condition of Malé Commercial Harbour

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Ahmed Nazim, and the Chair of the 241 Committee, Ahmed Saleem, visited the Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) port yesterday to assess its condition.

During the visit, the officials toured the Malé Commercial Harbour and held discussions with MPL CEO Mohamed Rishwan and the company’s management regarding port operations. Rishwan provided details on the current state of the port and the challenges it faces.

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Nazim said the purpose was to evaluate the port’s condition and identify existing problems. He noted that recent developments have highlighted several issues in the commercial port, making it essential to fully understand the situation in order to address them.

Nazim added that one of the objectives was to confirm the availability of space for installing a container scanning system to check imported containers and to determine how the project could proceed. Customs has already begun work on installing the scanner, and Finance Minister Moosa Zameer has assured the Budget Committee that necessary funding will be provided. Both Customs and MPL have stated that establishing the scanning system will resolve many of the current operational issues.

The 241 Committee had recently investigated several matters related to Customs and compiled a report highlighting that some security aspects of the ports were compromised due to Customs’ operational procedures.

The Committee is also investigating the disappearance of over 13.6 million cigarettes, which Customs had seized in April while being illegally imported, from storage at the MPL port. Efforts are underway to identify deficiencies in the port connected to this incident.