The Republic of Maldives, with a population of 300,000, consists of about 1200 small, low-lying coral islands in the Indian Ocean, only 198 of which are inhabited. Most atolls are small, with a land area of less than one square kilometer, and many have fewer than 200 people. Tourism and commercial fisheries are the leading sectors of the economy. The Maldives’ extremely low population density is unique, even among small island archipelagic states.  The transport sector is dominated by maritime and air transportation. Male, the country's commercial and financial center, has a well developed sea port and country's only international airport for passenger traffic.  Ports. The country also has some 90 manmade harbors, as well as several natural harbors and jetties to access the inhabited atolls. However, transportation facilities to most islands are inadequate.  Air transportation. The former military airport at Gan handles international freight transportation. There are also three regional airports in the southern part of the archipelago and one in the northern atolls, as well as a number of private airstrips.  Roads. Paved roads are few: some 60 km in Male, and 14 km each on the Laamu and Addu Atolls. Village roads are mainly of compacted coral.  Challenges  With the population dispersed thinly across the islands, the cost of providing transportation, infrastructure, and social services to the people is high. This rises even more markedly on the outer atolls, severely limiting the range of economic activities available to these communities.  Inter-island transportation services are infrequent, expensive, and problematic. About 15 percent of the atoll population has reportedly to travel more than two hours by boat to reach the nearest health center or hospital. More than half of the inhabited islands are not always accessible due to problems with harbors, absence of jetties, impassable shallow waters and impenetrable reefs.  Government Strategy  To consolidate the population and promote employment opportunities outside Male, the Government, with donor assistance, is developing two regional growth centers in the Haa Dhalu Atoll in the far North and the Addu Atoll in the far South of the country. These centers are to have airports and ports to provide better social and infrastructure services to the people. A new international airport and sea port is proposed for Addu Atoll to bring tourism and other economic opportunities within the reach of the more isolated southern atolls. The Government is also improving domestic maritime transport in selected atolls.  World Bank Support  The Bank's strategy in the Maldives aims to reduce regional disparities in access to social and infrastructure services. In the past, the International Development Association (IDA) has supported the development of tourism by helping to upgrade Male’s international airport. The Male Airport Upgrading Project for US$7.5 million, which closed in 1994, addressed a critical infrastructure bottleneck by providing for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the airport's facilities and for building the Airport Authority's management capability through technical assistance and training.  IDA's medium-term emphasis will be on lending for human development, leaving the other key areas such as social and physical infrastructure ― particularly in the two growth centers ― to the Asian Development Bank and Japan. |
RSS