Velana International Airport (VIA) has announced that the company has begun the work on joining the existing runway with the developing one.

An official from Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL) stated that the work will be done from 12 am to 6 am every day and all airlines have been informed that the runway will be closed during this period.

"Works for the connecting taxiway between the new runway and the existing runway is done very close to the current runway."said the official for MACL.

 "We have been proceeding with the works for a while now, and as such, the runway has remained closed during this period between 12 am and 6 am."

The new runway which will be 3,400 meters long and will be 60 meters wide is set to open at the end of 2018.

According to MACL, USD 400 million loan has been granted by the Exim Bank of China to build the new run way and finance a new fuel farm which can store up to 45 million litres of fuel and a 120,000-ton cargo facility.

Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) is a 100% government owned Limited Liability Company governed by a Board of Directors appointed by the Privatisation & Corporatization Board of Maldives. MACL is the operator of Velana International Airport (VIA) the gateway to the Maldives.

MACL has embarked on the largest developmental projects in the Maldives, including a billion-dollar investment to transform VIA into a world-class airport.

Major projects includes the development of the new runway which can accommodate A380 aircrafts, a new International Passenger Terminal which can cater for 7.5 million pax, a new Cargo Terminal which can handle 120,000 tons, a new Fuel Farm which is 3 times the size of the present facility, a new Sea plane Terminal with MRO facilities, along with many other infrastructural developments.