Maldives’ latest India-funded project has stark differences from China-funded ventures
In what promises to be the crown jewel of development projects in Maldives, the host government has signed a commercial contract with Indian infrastructure major, Afcons, for the prestigious 6.74-kilometre sea bridge connecting capital Malé to three other islands. Funded by India on a 1:4 grant-cum-credit basis, the US $500 million bridge is the single largest infrastructure project in the country, with multiple goals and targets.
Known as the Greater Malé Connectivity Project (GMCP), the fork bridge will link Malé to neighbouring Villingli, Gulhifalhu, and Thilafushi, thereby, developing these three islands as well. It will also help create the much needed lung space in capital Malé, which is at present the most crowded capital city now in the region in terms of population-density.
Known as the Greater Malé Connectivity Project (GMCP), the fork bridge will link Malé to neighbouring Villingli, Gulhifalhu, and Thilafushi, thereby, developing these three islands as well.
When completed, the Thilamalé bridge, as commonly known, will become the ‘national economic engine’ and lifeline connecting Malé, the airport-island Hulhule, and the reclaimed suburban Hulhumalé, with the Gulhifalhu Port and the Thilafushi Industrial Zone, both proposed as part of the new project. The port and the industrial zone, while helping to decongest the existing facilities in the capital, will also provide jobs to local youth in a nation where unemployment has for long remained a socio-economic and politico-electoral issue.
Direct road access to outlying islands will help decongest Malé, which presently houses 40 percent of the nation’s 5.31-lakh population (2019). Experts hope that the new bridge and attendant facilities would help Malé regain some of its forgotten pristine beauty, lost to rapid and at times unplanned growth and development just over the past three or four decades.
Population density in Malé has had immense social consequences, with the moderate Islamic nation still accounting for the highest divorce rates in South Asia. Sociologists and law-enforcers have attributed such broken families as the main cause for high levels of drug abuse in the country, which is also a major international transit point.
From a purely domestic perception, adolescent children from broken families, both boys and girls, left to fend for themselves in the streets, join professional gangs, which become the handmaiden of unscrupulous politicians. Welfare officials and NGOs attribute the failure of past rehabilitation measures to this vicious cycle.
Sociologists and law-enforcers have attributed such broken families as the main cause for high levels of drug abuse in the country, which is also a major international transit point.
The Thilamalé bridge is not the first sea-bridge in the country. That credit goes to China-funded Sinimalé bridge, connecting capital Malé and airport-island Hulhule. But any comparison made between the two should end there. The Sinimalé bridge is 1.39-kilometre, or less than a fourth of the India-funded bridge. It connects the two islands straight and direct. But the proposed bridge connects four islands, not all of them in a straight line.
Like other China-funded projects across the world, the airport bridge, signed and executed under the former President Abdullah Yameen (2013-18), did not employ local labour or procure any local material. Nor is the cost of servicing the Chinese loan or repayment schedule public knowledge, as should have been in a democracy.
In contrast, the Indian project-funding is transparent. It is well-known that the US $400-million line-of-credit extended by India’s Exim Bank carries 1.7 percent interest rate and is returnable in 20 years with a five-year grace period. The transparency and easy repayment schedules and interest rates accompanying this project is applicable to all the India-funded development projects.
The Thilamalé bridge is the largest of the India-funded projects in Maldives at present. But it is not the only one. Every project funded out of India’s US $1.4-billion aid package goes through similar processes, ensuring that there was nothing for either government to hide from the beneficiary population.
The transparency and easy repayment schedules and interest rates accompanying this project is applicable to all the India-funded development projects.
Apart from the bridge work, some of the other physical and social infrastructure projects to address the needs of far-away island populations are already under way. More such projects are in the pipeline, with agreements for a housing project and a cancer hospital, amongst others, expected to be signed in the coming weeks.
The delays in proceeding with follow-up action on the fast-tracked decision-making processes on both sides is attributed to compelling governmental prioritisations and also travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The unavoidable delays attending on transparency and open-tender processes that the two governments found it appropriate to strengthening bilateral relations is the other reason.
The Indian funding for the Thilamalé bridge falls outside the purview of the initial US $800-million line-of-credit agreed between the two countries during President Ibrahim Solih’s maiden visit to New Delhi and his discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after assuming office in late 2018. The project took shape during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Malé in September 2019, when the proposal was first made. The agreement for Indian grant was signed a year later during Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla’s visit.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Indian High Commissioner Sunjay Sudhir said that it was a ‘mission accomplished’ for all those involved in finalising the project on both sides. The project supports the vision of President Solih and Prime Minister Modi for strong bilateral relations, he said, adding that it is a concrete example of working in tandem of the ‘India First’ foreign policy of the Maldives and the ‘Neighbourhood First’ foreign policy of India.
For his part, Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid—who will take over as the 76th president of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) by the middle of next month—described it as the ‘defining moment’ of his nation’s developmental journey and an ‘enduring tribute’ to putting up the proposal along with President Solih during his counterpart Jaishankar’s 2019 visit and assiduously following it up.
Some of the India-funded community projects in Maldivian islands also involved the elected local councils, who reflected the needs and views of the local population.
In his speech, the High Commissioner, Sunjay Sudhir, highlighted that the Indian model of development cooperation is demand-driven as priorities are set by the host government, and not imposed from outside which has a major role in execution of the project. So much so, some of the India-funded community projects in Maldivian islands also involved the elected local councils, who reflected the needs and views of the local population.
Further, High Commissioner Sudhir laid great stress on the ownership and transparency of India-funded projects in the country from the very word ‘go’. Thus, the detailed project report for Thilamalé bridge was exclusively commissioned by the Maldivian government and was prepared by a Hong Kong firm. The work contract too was decided only through an open-tender process.
The bridge project is scheduled to be completed in two years’ time. Given the complexities of the work involved, starting with the erection of pillars in mid-sea and importation of most material from sand and cement required for construction, this indicates the inherent challenges ahead. Yet, the ‘ambitious deadline’ is not too difficult to meet. Indications are that most, if not all parts, of the project, will be completed within the set time frame. With the next presidential polls in the country due in late 2023, that will be saying a lot.
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N. Sathiya Moorthy is a policy analyst and commentator based in Chennai.
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