Cleaning up a landfill in an island. PHOTO/MIHAARU
The World Bank Group has decided to provide USD 17.5 million (MVR 269 million) as aid to the Maldives for waste management.
In a statement, World Bank announced that its board of directors made the decision Friday to grant USD 17.5 million for waste management projects in various regions of the archipelago. World Bank stated that the aid is to be used for six years to dispose and manage waste via environment-friendly procedures.
The statement did not specify the regions where the aid is to be utilised.
World Bank’s statement also cited the group’s country manager for the Maldives that the island nation has good policies for waste management. The manager noted that President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has included waste management as one of his major policies.
The statement highlighted that 365,000 tonnes of waste are produced annually in the Maldives, with people in the capital producing 1.8 kilograms and people in atoll islands producing 0.8 kilograms of waste daily. Meanwhile, people in resort islands produce 3.5 kilograms of waste per day, according to World Bank.