Austrian to launch summer Maldives flights

Austrian Airlines will offer summer flights to the Maldives for the first time this year.

From July 2014, the airline will launch weekly flights between Vienna and Male, with services leaving the Austrian capital every Thursday and returning from the Maldives the following day. All flights will be operated using a twin-aisle Boeing 767-300 aircraft. Prior to 2014, Austrian had only flown to the Maldives during the winter.

The expansion of its Maldives operates follows Austrian’s return to Iran. From 11 March 2014, the airline will operate five weekly flights to the country’s capital Tehran.

It will also increase the frequency of its Vienna-Delhi route from five weekly flights to daily from 30 March 2014.

Maldives to boost trade ties with KSA

The tiny island of Maldives will seek Saudi investments and partnerships in energy, tourism, transport and Islamic affairs, besides a soft loan facility of $300 million, during talks with Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, who arrives in the smallest Asian country on Monday.
Crown Prince Salman will hold official talks in Male.

“The crown prince’s trip to the Maldives comes in response to the invitation extended by Maldivian President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayoom,” Maldivian Ambassador Adam Hassan told Arab News on Saturday. The crown prince, who flies to the Maldives after wrapping up his six-day visit to Japan, granted $10,000 to each Saudi scholarship student currently studying in Japan.

Crown Prince Salman reportedly gave students additional funds on Saturday to cope with the high cost of living in Tokyo and other Japanese cities. The crown prince will spend a few days on the island before traveling to India for an official visit from Feb. 26-28.

Ambassador Hassan said that the visit had added significance keeping in view the progressively growing relations between the Kingdom and Maldives. He said Maldives, a Muslim country in Asia lying in the Indian Ocean, had been a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). “Both nations share common approaches on a whole range of bilateral, regional and international issues,” said the envoy.

Maldives was also elected to the UN Human Rights Council together with Saudi Arabia in November of last year.
Discussions about credit facilities aimed at settling the island’s budgetary requirements began last year during the Maldivian presidential visit to Riyadh.

Source : http://www.arabnews.com/print/529971

Aquiva Foundation and STELCO Team to Provide Drinking Water from Waste Heat in the Maldives

The small Maldivian Island of Guhli welcomes the world’s first desalination unit utilizing the waste heat of the local power generator to produce up to 10 tons of drinking water per day through membrane distillation.

Today the tap was turned on for a new way of making the energy water nexus work on the small coral Island of Guhli, which measures approximately 600 by 300 meters. It is home to about 1200 inhabitants, a shipyard and a growing number of guesthouses. There are no natural sweet water sources other than seasonal rain, and therefore, Guhli was reliant on water imports. The water produced through this new technology will be used to reliably provide water for drinking, cooking and hygienic purposes.

As a result of a joint venture between the Aquiva Foundation and STELCO, the Maldives has inaugurated the world’s first desalination unit utilizing the waste heat of the local power generator to produce up to 10 tons of drinking water per day through membrane distillation. The technology is being provided by memsys.

The project was developed by the local power company STELCO in a joint venture with Aquiva Foundation, which won a tender in 2013 asking to desalinate water utilizing the waste heat available on all Maldivian Islands.

The desalination plant taps into the cooling cycle of local diesel generators to retrieve the thermal heat that is otherwise wasted into the air. This waste heat of about 85 degrees C drives a desalination process under vacuum using the membrane distillation modules of the German/Singaporean company memsys. This robust process follows, in essence, the natural water cycle and results in distillate water of the highest purity. This distillate is then mineralized using local coral sand for a good Maldivian taste. It is distributed under the brand “AQUIVA fushi” – fushi standing for the pure island taste created by coral sand in the mineralization process.

The water is only available in reusable containers in order to prevent the pollution of the pristine Maldivian nature through the plastic waste of one-way bottles.

“This project shows our efforts to provide environmentally sustainable solutions which improve the conditions for our people using break through technologies,” said the Maldivian Energy Minister Mr. Thoriq Ibrahim.

Florian Bollen, CEO of the Aquiva Foundation, noted that, “We say thank you for the joint effort of all parties involved in this project: The Maldivian Authorities, the Guhli Island Council, STELCO providing waste heat and land, our local integrator Static, and our technology suppliers Aquaver and memsys. We believe that this is a good example of how water problems can be solved sustainably on a local level, even in situations where no sweet water is available. We are already working to apply this concept to many of the 200 inhabited islands of the Maldives, a number of Resort Islands plus other nations.”

The UN water expert Jehaan Saleem stated that, “A good supply of safe drinking water has to be on top of the agenda of many small island nations since water-borne diseases are still one of the largest threats to the health of the people on earth.”

Water-related diseases are common in the Maldives. Apart from its geographic isolation, factors that contribute to the disease burden include shortage of clean water, general lack of awareness among the public regarding the links between environment, clean water and personal health, water treatment and water sources. Therefore improving access to safe water by developing sustainable systems that can be maintained by the island communities such as the “AQUIVA fushi” is crucial to improve health and well-being, particularly among the population in the atolls.

Edgar Konijnendijk, responsible for the drinking water program at Aquaver, said, “It’s a privilege to be part of such an exciting and challenging project. Working with the local population makes you realize the urgency for clean fresh water today and their will to develop the islands further. Providing remote communities with clean drinking water requires a simple and robust system – low in maintenance and easy to use. This is exactly what we have achieved with our plants. Their unique ability to utilize waste heat makes them suitable for other remote communities all around the world.”

Wolfgang Heinzl, the developer of the memsys technology, commented, “Today, the memsys process is applied in many industries for waste water treatment, ethanol separation and cooling processes. In light of the growing water problems in this world, sustainable desalination was one of the most important issues on our minds when developing the memsys process. We are committed to supporting efforts to make this a reality.”


Source: http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2014/02/20/aquiva-foundation-and-stelco-team-provide-drinking-water-waste-heat-maldives

World's best honeymoon spot is Maldives

(CNN) -- For some it's Paris, for others Rome.

For others it gets no more exotic than the local Indian restaurant.

But where would you like to spend your honeymoon?

Or where did you spend it?

If there were a pictographic encyclopedia of the world, this is what you'd see under the "dream honeymoon" entry -- a villa in the middle of Maldives' crystal clear water. Things could get even more spectacular, if this underwater, space-age hotel ever gets built.

A recent survey from booking site Agoda.com revealed that 20% of 15,000 customers from around the world picked the Maldives as their "dream honeymoon location."

The survey was limited to 20 pre-selected locations, mixing cities, countries and other locales, and interviewees couldn't add their own.

We want to widen the choice to anywhere in the world and ask: where would you go for a once-in-a-lifetime, post-wedding holiday with your partner?

Top honeymoon destinations according to Agoda.com

Maldives -- 20.3%
Greek Islands -- 7.8%
Paris -- 7.6%
Bali -- 7.1%
Hawaii -- 6.6%
Italy -- 6.5%
Caribbean Islands -- 5.7%
Tahiti -- 5.6%
New Zealand -- 5.2%
Istanbul -- 3.8%
Phuket -- 3.5%
Australia -- 3.4%
Prague -- 2.8%
Las Vegas -- 2.7%
New York -- 2.5%
Spain -- 2.5%
Cancun -- 2.4%
Rio de Janeiro -- 2.2%
Croatia -- 1.0%
Montreal -- 0.9%

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/14/travel/honeymoon-destinations/index.html?iref=allsearch

Space-age underwater hotel planned for Maldives

(CNN) -- With its luminous body seemingly hovering above the water, and five spidery legs plunging deep into the sea, this futuristic building could be the mothership in a sci-fi film.

In fact, it's the design for one of the world's largest underwater hotels -- and it could be coming to a beach near you.
Introducing the Water Discus Hotel, a luxury multi-million dollar resort featuring 21 moveable rooms found in the heart of spectacular coral reefs.

Maldives to Dubai
The space-age hotel is now set to be built on the remote -- and postcard perfect -- tropical island of Kuredhivaru in the Maldive Islands, with the National Ministry of Tourism giving the go-ahead to the ambitious plan last week.

The United Arab Emirates may soon be the next home of the high-tech hotel, with a Dubai construction company also in negotiations to build the surreal structure.

It might look like a spaceship, but this remarkable design is in fact a luxury underwater hotel.

"There are many people who will never have the courage to dive to these beautiful reefs," designer, Pawel Podwojewski, told CNN.

The Water Discus Hotel, to be built in the Maldives

"But here you will have the chance to explore an underwater world from the comfort of your bedroom."

Space-age seascape

Described as "Star Trek meets the undersea world of Jacques Cousteau," the remarkable building -- valued at up to $50 million -- is the brainchild of Polish company Deep Ocean Technology, backed by Swiss investors.

Wake up to different ocean views in the underwater hotel

The luminous hotel features two large disc-shaped lounges seven-meters above the water, housing a luxury restaurant and spa.

The lounges are connected to a glass tunnel plunging 30-meters below the water, leading to 21 opulent bedrooms.

"A lot of people have said it looks like something from a James Bond film," said Podwojewski. "I'm a big fan of the movies, so perhaps that was an inspiration."

"I wanted to keep it as sleek and simple as possible -- so the sphere shape is very efficient."

Deep end

The cutting-edge hotel may plunge deep beneath the ocean, but its luxury facilities are sky-high, including a helicopter landing pad and rooftop swimming pool.

The sleek design, which can cost up to $50 million, is now set to be built on the remote tropical island of Kuredhivaru in the Maldives.

Guests can sit back and enjoy views of vibrant reefs and tropical fish, all from the comfort of their bed.

Those wanting to explore the spectacular underwater world, can also dive straight in from the hotel's airlock compartment, including its own decompression chamber.

The more adventurous can even take a ride in a three-passenger deep-sea submarine.

Moving on up

Not only does the hotel look like a spaceship -- it actually moves like one, with the largest underwater saucer-shaped room able to slide to the surface in emergencies.

Guests can enjoy views of vibrant coral reefs and sea creatures, all from the comfort of their bedroom.

"If you need to replace a window for example, it's very difficult underwater," explained Podwojewski. "So we wanted to build a building that can surface any time for maintenance or safety."

"It's a bit like a balloon underwater -- when we let go of the water from the room's huge tanks, the balloon will surface automatically. It doesn't need to rely on electricity."

Environmental concerns

Developers hope to limit the impact on coral reefs by laying the foundation in as few points as possible.

More adventurous guests can dive straight into the water from a special airlock compartment, including its own decompression chamber.

There are also plans to rebuild coral reefs, by growing the vibrant eco-systems in a special plantation before relocating them around the hotel.

"To preserve the natural environment we have developed couple of kinds of foundations depending on the local conditions," said Podwojewski. "The key is to touch the sea ground in just few points."

The unique hotel may soon be built in the United Arab Emirates, with Dubai construction company Drydocks now in negotiations with designers.

"Most probably the hotel will land on a flat sand area to reflect the sun rays inside the rooms and the reef will be additionally planted around the hotel rooms to enrich the view."

The space-age design might seem like something from the future. But it seems this unique underwater hotel will be much closer than you think.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/10/travel/space-age-underwater-hotel-maldives/index.html?iref=allsearch

Maldives MP in serious condition after stabbed, flown to Sri Lanka for treatment

A Maldives Member of Parliament (MP) is in serious condition after being stabbed in the back and is receiving treatment after being flown to Sri Lanka, local media reported here on Monday. A member from MP Alhan Fahmy's family has confirmed that injuries sustained to the lower back has left the MP paralyzed from the waist down. However, the family member said that according to doctors, chances of the MP's recovery are high if the surgery is successful, local media outlet Sun reported. MP Alhan Fahmy was transported from ADK Hospital to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport on Sunday to be flown off to Sri Lanka for further treatment. Police has obtained a statement from MP Alhan Fahmy over the stabbing that took place on Saturday night. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) have condemned the attack on MP Alhan Fahmy. Although classified serious, Alhan is conscious and his condition is improving. The hospital said he has sustained injuries to the spine. He has been moved for scanning. One person has been arrested for stabbing MP Alhan Fahmy. Police has revealed that the individual arrested from the scene is an 18-year-old male. The young man was arrested by two policemen active on the scene in plain clothes. According to Alhan's younger brother Shazban Fahmy, Alhan was stabbed in the back and was soon transported to ADK Hospital. An eyewitness said Alhan was transported to ADK on the back of a pickup truck. The MP is reported to have lost a lot blood.