Completed Development AidData Chinese Aid

CDB provides $47.1 million loan for Seaplane Facilities at Velana International Airport (VIA) Project (Linked to Record ID#105517)

$47.17M USD

Funder	China Development Bank (CDB)
Recipient Organization	Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL)
Country	Maldives
Start Date	Jul 05, 2018
End Date	Jun 05, 2027
Duration	3,257 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`54268`

Grant Description

CDB provides $47.1 million loan for Seaplane Facilities at Velana International Airport (VIA) Project On July 5, 2018, China Development Bank (CDB) and Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) signed a $47,170,000 loan agreement for the Seaplane Facilities at Velana International Airport (VIA) Project (captured via Record ID#54268).

The loan, which was backed by a sovereign guarantee (No.

GRM/2018/006), originally carried the following borrowing terms: a maturity of 13-years, a grace period of 2.5-years, and an interest rate of 6-month LIBOR plus a 2.9% margin. However, the loan's interest rate was subsequently reset to 6-month SOFR plus a 2.9% margin.

The loan was also collateralized against the mortgage of leasehold rights of the property under the Seaplane Facilities Area Lease Agreement (signed by the Ministry of Finance of the Maldives and MACL on June 22, 2020). The lender expected the borrower to use the revenues from an Airport Development Fee (ADF) to repay the loan.

The borrower was expected to use the proceeds of the loan to partially finance a $55.5 million commercial contract between MACL and Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG), which was signed on October 25, 2017. The loan had achieved a 100% disbursement rate as of December 31, 2020.

According to the Maldives Ministry of Finance, the loan’s amount outstanding was $35,499,675 as of December 31, 2019, $47,170,000 as of December 31, 2020, $44,370,000 as of December 31, 2021, $39,722,000 as of December 31, 2022, and $34,738,000 as of December 31, 2023.

MACL made loan repayments to CDB worth $11,670,325 during calendar year 2020, $2,800,000 during calendar year 2021, $4,648,000 during calendar year 2022, and $4,984,000 during calendar year 2023.

The purpose of the project was to support the development of the new seaplane terminal at the Velana International Airport (VIA).

With a total floor area of 28,000 square meters and complete water facilities, the seaplane terminal was expected to improve tourism service quality and reception capacity of the Maldives and further boost the local economy. Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) was the contractor responsible for project implementation.

Construction commenced on January 29, 2018. The new seaplane terminal was opened on November 17, 2019. A seaplane terminal handover ceremony took place on August 4, 2021.

Under the $47.1 million loan agreement between MACL and CDB, semi-annual repayments were originally scheduled to take place in twenty-one equal installments, beginning in March 2021.

However, in 2020, China Development Bank and Government of Maldives signed an agreement to suspend debt service payments under the loan agreement during the period between September 21, 2020 to March 21, 2021 (as captured via Record ID#105517). As of December 2021, the loan's amount outstanding was $45,026,407, which included $660,000 of capitalized interest.

The repayment of deferred interest was schedule to commence on September 20, 2022.

📋 Staff Comments

MACL is the state-owned company that operates Velanaa International Airport (VIA) in Malé. Zhang Fenglin served as BUCG’s Project Director.
The Chinese project title is 水上飞机航站楼工程 or 马尔代夫维拉纳国际机场水上飞机航站楼项目.
For loan and debt rescheduling records with variable interest rates, AidData calculates the all-in interest rate at T0 based on the reference rate (such as LIBOR or EURIBOR) on the loan start date, plus any known margin. Please see the methodology for additional details.
In its audited financial statement for the year ended 31 December 2020, MACL identifies the weighted average interest rate of the CDB loan as 4.8%.
The amounts outstanding and repayments data are drawn from https://www.dropbox.com/s/q82x5hte85kc20e/105._Statement_of_Government_Guarantees_Audit_Report_2021.pdf?dl=0 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/rik8ynrjweat5aw/StatementOfGovernmentGuaranteesFinancialYear2020%20%281%29.pdf?dl=0 and https://www.audit.gov.mv/Uploads/AuditReports/2024/02February/25._Statement_of_Government_Guarantees_2022___Financial_Statement_Audit.pdf6. Prior to 2022, Maldives previously charged a per-passenger airport service charge (ASC) of $12 for Maldivians and $25 for foreigners departing the country and an airport development fee (ADF) of the same magnitude. Starting on January 1, 2022, the ASC was repealed and replaced with a new departure tax ranging from $12-$120 for Maldivians and $30-$120 for foreigners, depending on the class of travel. The ADF was also increased to the same amounts.
The proceeds from the Airport Development Fee and dividends from the state-owned airport operator, MACL, are transferred into the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF) and earmarked for loan repayment. As of end-2022, the SDF Fund amounted to US$415 million

📚 Sources & References

Feature: Workers forgo Chinese New Year holidays to keep Male airport project on track amid state of emergency
Sea Plane Facilities Development Project of Verana International Airport Maldives signed
Maldives launches new seaplane terminal project
Work commences on VIA’s new seaplane terminal project
New Sea Plane Terminal
Medium Term Debt Management Strategy 2020-2022
MACL completes 95% of new seaplane terminal
Seaplane terminal’s full disclosure, setting the record straight
Mohamed Fizan
The Importance of Properly Managing the New Seaplane Terminal
马尔代夫机场两项工程有序推进
新华网：“我们将努力确保按时竣工” ——记马尔代夫马累机场改扩建项目
中企承建马尔代夫机场项目动工
Government Guaranteed Debt
Government of Maldives Active Sovereign Guaranteed Debt as at end June 2019
Work commences on VIA’s new seaplane terminal project
Op-ed: The Importance of Properly Managing the New Seaplane Terminal
MALDIVES AIRPORTS COMPANY LIMITED FINANCIAL YEAR 2020
Government Guaranteed Loans
Statement of Government Guarantees Financial Year 2020
Statement of Government Guarantees Financial Year 2022, 2023 report, 2022 report, 2020 report, 2019 report, 2018 report
Consolidated Financial Statements for the Financial Year 2021
Maldives Airports Company Limited Audited Financial Statements 2023
Statement of Government Guarantees Audit Report 2023 Loan applications and disbursements are still being received and processed as the projects continue to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are in place to ensure project continuity.