India continues its infra support to Maldives with airport pact, critical care facility

India has continued its infrastructure support to the Maldives with a pact on the development of Hanimaadhoo International Airport and the inauguration of a critical care facility and emergency and trauma unit at B. Dharavandhoo Health Centre.

The announcement on key projects comes even as construction has started for the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP), the largest infrastructure project in the Indian Ocean island country which is being funded by India with a grant of $100 million and a Line of Credit (LoC) of $400 million.

The contract for the development of Hanimaadhoo International Airport was signed on September 25 and is the first-ever major infrastructure project to be undertaken outside the Greater Male region.

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The project is funded under the $800 million concessional Line of Credit (LoC) extended by the Indian govt while the total value of the contract stands at $136 million.

Thanking the Indian government for the infra projects, Maldives minister of economic development Fayyaz Ismail said, "I would like to thank PM Modi and the people of India for the generous assistance that you have been providing to Maldivian people and this nation."

The pact will see the construction of a new 2.46km runway and a terminal with a capacity of 1.3 million passengers per annum. The airport is seen as Maldives’ gateway to the northern atolls and will give a fillip to tourism, additionally easing pressure on Male international airport.

Indian high commissioner to Maldives Munu Mahawar at the ceremony said that the "project is symbolic of the commitment of the government of India to work together with the government of Maldives supporting its initiatives for regional infrastructure development."

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Meanwhile, Wednesday saw the inauguration of the Emergency & Trauma Unit at B. Dharavandhoo Health Centre with the Indian government contributing around MVR 7.5 million for the project.

Present on the occasion were the Indian high commissioner and Aishah Didi, Maldives ministry of gender, family and social services. The project was announced during former Indian external affairs minister Late Sushma Swaraj's 2019 Maldives visit.

All in all, India is supporting 45 high-impact community development projects in Maldives, support to projects like MIFCO fisheries facilities, a cricket stadium in Hulhumale, Gulhifalhu port, and the construction of 4000 social housing units.

Indian support comes even as China in the past tried to get involved in major infra projects in the country under the previous pro-Beijing Yameen regime. The current speaker of the Parliament and former President of the country Nasheed has several times pointed to Chinese projects in the country as responsible for the debt that the country had to deal with.

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