As part of the many projects being allocated under the Indian grant assistance, the government has allocated two more projects in Hulhudhoo, Seenu and Baa atoll on Monday.

The two projects are the construction of a drug detoxification center and a community center in Hulhudhoo and to establish regular student ferry services between Fehendhoo and Goidhoo in Baa atoll.

While MVR 6,014,971 was allocated for the project in Hulhudhoo, MVR 1.5 million was allocated for the project in Baa atoll.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs via a statement on Monday revealed that the project in Hulhudhoo aims to develop and establish drug treatment and rehabilitation services in the island with the focus on Addu City as a whole.

The scope of the project includes developing skills and knowledge of counselors, social workers and technical staff as well as development of infrastructure. It also aims to strengthen an evidence-based treatment programme according to the international best practice.

While there is a large community requiring the service, there is no rehabilitation facility available in Hulhudhoo currently.

In addition, the establishment of ferry services between Fehendhoo and Goidhoo will prove to be beneficial as students from Fehendhoo have been travelling to and fro in a small dinghy as the Fehendhoo School has been closed following a decline in residential population.

While the aim of the project is to provide a long-term sustainable solution and to ensure full and uninterrupted access to education for the students of Fehendhoo, current arrangements in the island are by the Parents Association and the island council. Foreign Ministry also revealed that the condition of the dinghy provided by them is deteriorating, potentially interrupting the students’ access to education.

Also on Monday, the government allocated MVR 8 million to establish ice plants in two islands in Maldives under the same grant assistance.

The Indian grant assistance was provided in USD 6.9 million (MVR 106 million) to the Maldivian government during former Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Maldives during March this year.

The aim of said financial support is to conduct socio-economic development projects across the country which are of high impact, stated the Ministry. While many projects have been allocated under the assistance thus far across the entire Maldives, projects under this grant will be managed by local authorities.