Incredible new £800bn airport set to open on world's most beautiful islands

The main international airport in the Maldives, Velana International Airport, is undergoing a huge development with a reported cost of $1billion (£783million).

Construction for the first phase will be completed soon

Ibrahim Shareef Mohamed, CEO and Managing Director of Maldives Airports Company, told Euronews: “The current terminal is built to service about 2,700 to 3,000 maximum. But we are servicing 12,000 passengers from a facility which is built to cater for 3,000. So when the new terminal comes out, the service levels will just jump."

A huge tsunami in 2004 has left the country well aware of the disastrous impact of climate change.

The disaster killed 82 people and destroyed many buildings, including damage to the airport.

Mr Mohamed continued: “The memory of the tsunami is that almost everyone felt the fear. So we are very cognizant of the fact that climate change is real and we try to incorporate energy efficient, renewable energy and other techniques in our buildings, even to the extent that our designs address negative climate impacts."

Velana Airport will have its grounds fortified while also turning to renewable energy to prevent long-term damage from climate change.

The development will see a seaplane terminal built. The airport currently sees 72 flights an hour for its operating hours of 6am to 6pm, and there are plans to increase this.

Mr Mohamed added: “We’ve begun discussions with several airport lighting companies from around the world on how we can install lights in the water in a safe and sustainable manner, so the seaplane runways can be lit at night."

The plan is for the airport to use 90 percent of energy from renewable sources in just two years. Express.co.uk