The Maldives is promoting foreign investment across five sectors beyond tourism, highlighting foreign ownership options, long land leases and transport infrastructure in its investment pitch.
The government’s investment overview identifies construction, agribusiness, transport, energy and finance as areas for diversification. It presents private investment as a means of broadening an economy where tourism remains the main driver of activity.
The overview says the foreign direct investment framework permits full foreign ownership in many economic sectors. It also lists public-private partnerships, private-sector proposals and Special Economic Zones among the routes available to investors.
Advertised incentives include land leases of up to 99 years, customs duty exemptions for large-scale projects and access to international arbitration for dispute settlement. Business and corporate resident visas are also presented as entry options for investors.
The overview does not specify the eligibility requirements or approval conditions attached to these arrangements. Its description of full foreign ownership applies to many sectors, rather than the entire economy.
Tourism’s importance remains central to the investment case. The overview puts the sector’s contribution at more than one-fifth of GDP, with further activity generated in transport, trade and construction.
It projects economic growth of around 5.3 percent in 2026, supported by tourism infrastructure and growth in transport, communications and trade-related services. That figure is a forecast, not a recorded outcome.
Expanded capacity at Velana International Airport features prominently in the infrastructure pitch. The overview lists annual passenger terminal capacity of seven million and cargo handling capacity of 120,000 tonnes a year. These are capacity figures, not actual passenger or freight volumes.
Domestic aviation, seaplanes, public ferries and private speedboat services are presented as links between investment locations across the archipelago. The government also highlights broadband and submarine cable infrastructure as support for digital businesses.
Workforce development is another part of the diversification strategy. The overview describes entrepreneurship programmes and technical and vocational training aimed at expanding participation in tourism-related industries, construction, information technology and agriculture.
Together, the proposals set out a broad investment offer rather than a single new project. The material provides no announcement date, investment commitments or timetable for individual developments.