President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has decided to extend Maldives Customs Service's clearance operations from 18 hours to 24 hours to accelerate the clearance of goods.

During a meeting with small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners, some business owners requested the President's intervention to expedite goods clearance. The President provided a solution for this issue tonight.

"Currently, clearance operations run on one or two shifts, totaling approximately 18 hours. Instead of this, we will transition to round-the-clock, 24-hour operations, God willing," the President stated.

Furthermore, some business owners also shared complaints with the President regarding significant demurrage charges incurred due to delays in clearing air cargo brought into the Maldives.

In response, the President announced that after discussions with relevant officials from Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), a decision has been made to extend the demurrage-free period for air cargo.

"I have discussed this with the relevant officials from MACL here, and God willing, they will extend the demurrage-free period from 80 hours to 124 hours," the President confirmed.