The Manhattan Grand Hotel has officially opened in Malé, bringing new life to a long-stalled city hotel development and adding a new hospitality offering to the capital’s growing tourism and business landscape.
Speaking at the inauguration, Managing Director of Manhattan Grand Hotel Ibrahim Naeem said the completion of the project was made possible by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s vision to ensure that valuable national assets are developed and put to productive use. He said the building had remained abandoned for many years after the original city hotel project failed to progress, and that completing the development had long been an important objective.
Naeem said he wrote to President Muizzu requesting that World Business Private Limited be given the opportunity to develop the property, recognising its potential to contribute to the economy and serve visitors to the capital. According to him, the President accepted the request and expressed confidence that the company could successfully move the project forward.
He said the decision to facilitate the redevelopment of the property rather than allow it to remain unused reflected the Government’s broader focus on activating stalled assets, supporting private-sector participation and encouraging investments that can create economic value.
“I was very happy that someone I did not know, someone I had never approached in any way, made such an important decision. It makes me believe that he is a leader who loves his country,” Naeem said, describing the President’s decision as an important demonstration of commitment to national development.
When World Business Private Limited took over the property, the building was in a severely deteriorated condition and required extensive renovation and redevelopment. Naeem said the company nevertheless proceeded with the project because of its belief that the property could be transformed into an asset that would benefit both the country and the public.
The newly opened Manhattan Grand Hotel is expected to strengthen Malé’s city-hotel segment by providing additional accommodation for business travellers, government and corporate delegations, transit visitors and tourists seeking convenient access to the capital. Its opening also contributes to the continued diversification of the Maldives’ hospitality industry beyond the country’s internationally renowned resort islands, while supporting greater economic activity within the capital.
The property was originally developed under a city hotel project launched in 2007 with the objective of generating foreign currency revenue for State Trading Organisation. However, the project remained stalled for more than a decade. Last year, following a directive from President Muizzu, Housing Development Corporation compensated STO for the expenditure it had incurred on the project and subsequently facilitated the transfer of the city hotel development to a private company.
The completion and opening of Manhattan Grand Hotel now marks the transformation of a previously idle property into a functioning hospitality asset, reflecting the Government’s efforts to encourage development, improve the productive use of national infrastructure and create new opportunities for private investment in the Maldives.
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