The government of the Maldives and Dubai’s MBS Global Investments have announced plans to build a $8.8bn, 780,000 sq m, mixed-use development.
The Maldives International Financial Centre, as it will be called, was masterplanned by Italian architect Gianni Ranaulo.
The centre will contain three residential and office towers, seafront housing, hotels, retail areas, an oceanographic museum, a mosque, sports facilities and an international school. The centrepiece will be a 3,500-capacity conference centre, and there will be accommodation for up to 6,500 residents.
Individual structures are inspired by local fauna and the marine ecosystem, and much of the infrastructure will be located underground.
The centre is part of a move to diversify the island away from tourism. To this end, entrepreneurs and digital nomads will be offered breaks to their corporation and inheritance tax.
The government estimates that the development could add $1bn to the country’s GDP by its fifth year in operation.
Mohamed Muizzu, the president of the Maldives, said: ”With the centre, we are shaping the Maldives of tomorrow, a beacon of innovation and national pride that will thrive in harmony with nature.
“The financial centre will be a symbol of economic resilience and will set a new global benchmark that will massively benefit the people of the Maldives for generations to come.”
Moosa Zameer, the finance minister, added: “This is a momentous project. It offers a great opportunity to diversify our economy beyond tourism in line with our ambitions and will attract the best businesses and visionary entrepreneurs in the world.”
The centre is due to be completed by 2030.
In the last quarter of 2024, the Maldives had a public debt of $9.4bn, 134% of the country’s GDP, as reported by Reuters.
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