The resort opened to the public with a three-day festival of special events, beginning with presentations by Chairman and CEO of Club Med Henri Giscard d’Estang and CEO of Club Med South East Asia Pacific Heidi Kunkel. At the speech given at the ceremony, the owner, the initiator of “100% solar-powered” project, and Maldivian hospitality pioneer Champa Hussain Afeef, recalled how the island was “a simple sandbank with coconut trees when we first saw it.” With this project, he said, “We wanted to do something different and sustainable. I believe renewable energy is not just the future for tourism, but for all other industries as well.”