Brief History

Prior to 1950, commercial maritime activities in Malé consisted primarily of portage of goods from anchored ships, manual unloading and warehousing. The Maldivian National Trading Corporation (MNTC), founded in the 1950s, and the Orchid Company (founded a few years later) ushered in a new regime of mechanization and rudimentary automation of port activities. These changes include barge operations, tugboats and utilization of harbor cranes for cargo-handling. The government assumed port operations after the two companies were dissolved, and in 1983, the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) was formed as a state-owned Corporation. The Malé Commercial Harbour Project (1985), saw the renovation and modernization of the port; dredging and restructuring the Harbour and constructing new jetties, office buildings and container terminals. Maldives Ports Authority (MPA) was formed shortly after in 1986, as the sole operator of ports in Maldives. MPA was corporatized as Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) in July 2008.

Corporate Profile

Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) was instituted by Presidential decree with the mandate to develop, manage and operate the ports of Maldives. Under this decree, Malé Commercial Harbour was relocated on 15th September 1986 from the area now known as ‘Jumhooree Maidhaan’ to its current location. The first ever cargo vessel to arrive to Malé Commercial Harbour was M.V Ruthuris, which debarked with 38 containers on 10th January 1989.

MPL was incorporated on 31st July 2008 as a 100% government owned company under the Companies Act of Maldives, with the key function to ensure efficient management and operation of government owned ports and port facilities in the Maldives. As the sole operator of commercial maritime ports in the Country, its performance affects domestic commercial activities and is vital for sustained economic productivity and growth. To ensure this objective, we rely Executive Summary on port-centric logistics services aimed to deliver reliable, predictable and a safe environment for the handling and transportation of goods, are centric to our business model. Due to the nature of how closely dovetailed our services are across various industries, we seek a collaborative approach to understanding the needs of our clients and deliver value to address the challenges and negative externalities arising from global maritime trade.

MPL is governed under the leadership and guidance of the Board of Directors appointed by the President’s office. As a commercial corporate entity, the management follows the service port concept. MPL inherited the daunting task to continue planning and monitoring the changing needs of port users, as well as the shipping and business community. Constantly analysing changes to core industries such as fishing and tourism allows us to anticipate and assess possible opportunities to diversify our trade and bring best value to our clientele.

Our Vision

Your World-Class Port In the Indian Ocean, bridging the East and West.

Our Mission

Providing safe, efficient and reliable port services through innovation, sustainable best practices and stakeholder engagement.

Our Values

Professionalism in everything we do.

We become better every day.

Your safety, our priority.

You can count on us.

United, we are stronger.

Go green!