Planning Minister: At the point of overload in terms of projects in Maldives

Planning Minister Mohamed Aslam, on Monday, has remarked that companies are presently at the point of overload in terms of developmental projects presently underway in the Maldives.

Several parliamentarians raised concerns over the delays in some projects during Monday’s parliamentary sitting. In response, Minister Aslam said there were many reasons surrounding these delays.

In this regard, he attributed the requirement to adhere to the stipulated regulations and procedures in the implementation of the projects such as the tender process, consultative process and the formulation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to these delays as they are often time-consuming.

“Another thing is the capacity of the workload. Whether be it MTCC or any other company, they are at the point of overload in terms of projects underway in the Maldives at present,” he said.

Speaking further, Aslam stated that delays are often posed to projects due to a contractor’s capacity or financial constraints. On this note, he elaborated that some companies faced major financial blowbacks in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister Aslam’s remark comes after Youth Minister Ahmed Mahloof stated projects are stalled because contractors are overburdened with work.

Minister Mahloof, stressing contractors are overburdened with work, explained that although contractors estimate projects can be completed within the granted time frame, they are unable to, in reality.