An infrastructure project in the Maldives--the largest in the Indian Ocean atoll nation-- starts when the its government and an Indian infrastructure company sign a contract in Male on Thursday, reports The Indian Express.
Funded by an Indian grant of $100 m and a Line of Credit of $ 400 m, this is also the biggest new development project by India in its neighbourhood in recent years.
The Greater Male Connectivity Project, as it is called, will involve the construction of a 6.74 km long bridge and causeway link connecting the capital Male with the adjoining islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi.
Before this, the largest connectivity project in the Maldives was the 1.4 km Chinese funded bridge connecting Male to the Maldives airport in Hulhule island, and to the Hulumalhe island.
Discussions on the project were initiated during the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaisankar to Male in September 2019.
A planned new airport at Gulhifalu under an Indian Line of Credit, and the fact that Thilafushi is where the Maldives industrial zone is located, will make the GMCP and “economic lifeline”, officials said.
Such a project would have been impossible before 2018 when Maldives had a pronunced pro-China tilt to its foreign policy under the Abdulla Yameen presidency. President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih brought about a change after taking after winning the presidential election in 2018.
However, anti-India sentiments have not disappeared. in recent months, there has been a media backlash against India, including an #IndiaOut campaign in social media posts critical of the Maldivian government’s friendly relations with Delhi.
