Eight Million Dollar Grant from United States for infrastructure Projects on Tsunami-affected Islands
Colombo, December 13, 2005: The United States announced today a grant of $8.6 million for infrastructure projects on Tsunami-affected islands throughout the Maldives. The agreement, signed today at the Ministry of Finance, will provide funds for water and sanitation projects, electrification projects, and capacity building for the Ministry of Finance.
“This grant demonstrates the American government’s commitment to helping the Maldives rebuild after the tsunami,” said U .S. Ambassador Jeffrey Lunstead in Colombo. “Thousands of Maldivians should benefit from these projects in a sign of our deepening bilateral relationship.”
The funds will be disbursed over three phases and will be put into the Government’s Tsunami Relief and Reconstruction Fund. Phase one, which will be completed in May 2006, will asses existing sanitation systems and groundwater aquifers; develop infrastructure designs that take into account varying power sources between islands; and train officials in financial management software applications. Phase two, scheduled for completion in September 2006, will fund construction and equipment for new quay, breakwater, sand filling and revetment for harbors, and install sewerage systems. Phase three will see the completion of harbors and power systems by September 2008, as well as sewerage systems on two additional islands.