China firm to dredge 200 hectares in Maldives lagoon for agro

President Mohammed Muizzu has announced that 200 hectares of land will be acquired from the agricultural industrial zone to be set up in Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF).

Speaking at a parliamentary campaign event on Friday, the President said the government has started work to stabilise the economy by reducing the cost of importing all food.

Under the objective, 200 hectares of land will be dredged to establish an agricultural industrial zone in UTF, he said.

"We spend billions of dollars on importing all kinds of food that can be produced in the Maldives, so we have started work to establish an identity of our own so that we can produce all kinds of food that can be produced in this country," he said.

The President said he would fully establish food security in the country.

“...the project will also be implemented in islands in the north and south of Maldives, including some of the islands where agricultural people live,” he said.

He said the main hub of the project would be the UTF but the north and south atolls would be included.

He will also launch a project to produce enough food for the tourism sector, as the second phase of the project, he added.

An MoU has been signed with the Maldives Industrial Development Free Zone (MIDFZ) and China's Harbor Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) to implement the government's food security project.

The MoU will strengthen Maldives' efforts to enhance food security, diversify the economy and reduce dependence on imported food.

Scope of the project

The project will also establish a vegetable and fruit production base, an agricultural talent training base and an agricultural products, logistics and distribution centre.