President Solih: Power generation capacity increased to 140MW in last 3 years

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has stated that his administration has increased the total power generation capacity across the country to 140MW over the past three years.

President Solih made this statement whilst speaking at a special ceremony held at N. Magoodhoo earlier today, to inaugurate the new powerhouse and office building established on the island.

On this note, he detailed that 213 generators have been installed across 133 different islands within the past three years.

“From the work that has been carried out by Fenaka, powerhouses at 33 islands have been completed. Physical works on powerhouses at 31 islands are presently underway. Moreover, the establishment of new powerhouses at 14 islands are in the plans,” he added.

Highlighting that the usage of electricity increases in the month of Ramadan, every year, resulting in the increased load causing generators to shut down, triggering the need for a replacement – President Solih said that no such complaints were received during last year.

Speaking further, President Solih stressed that his administration’s purpose is to develop the Maldives in a decentralized manner.

In this regard, he said that he believed that due to the geographical formational of the Maldives, the natural resources available in the country can be utilized to their best capacity by the people through developing the country in a decentralized manner.

President Solih also went on to state that in governing a country, the provision of the two most basic services required by its people, water and sewerage – is mandated upon its leader.

However, he said that when he assumed office, a significant percentage of the islands lacked access to these services. On this note, he detailed that not even 20 percent of the islands had water and sewerage services established at them.

“At the end of last year’s December, there will be no island in the Maldives that a party has not been contracted to carry out this work at. My aim is to see the establishment of water and sewerage services at all Maldivian islands within the next two years,” he added.

President Solih also revealed that the project to expand Magoodhoo harbor is currently in the tender process. He noted that the process will be completed soon, with physical works expected to commence within upcoming two to three months.