India to build 100-bedded cancer hospital & 22,000-seater cricket stadium in Maldives

India on Wednesday announced that it will build a 100-bedded cancer hospital and a 22,000-seater cricket stadium in Hulhumale, Maldives. The two projects will be built using the USD 800 million Line of Credit (LoC) that was extended to the country last year, the Indian Embassy in Maldives informed.

"A 100-bed state-of-the-art Cancer Hospital will be set up in Hulhumale under the USD 800 million Line of Credit extended to the Maldives. This project will build on the already close bilateral cooperation in the health sector and include a robust component of human resource dvpt," Indian Embassy in Maldives said in its tweet.

Furthermore, the modern cricket stadium using the latest technology and a capacity to seat 22,000 spectators will also come up in Hulhumale under the USD 800 million LoC, the embassy said in another tweet.  Projects covered under the LoC include several infrastructure development projects.

Last month, India had extended a USD 250 million loan to the Maldives government to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19, in which the State Bank of India will subscribe to a Treasury Bond issued by the Maldives government with a 10-year tenure.

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Development projects to benefit visitors and residents

Indian embassy also said that the development projects in the Hulhumale will benefit both the visitors and residents.

"Honoured to partner with Housing Development Corporation Ltd. Dvpt. of Central Park and renovation of the Arrival Jetty in Hulhumale are grant projects close to our heart. While the Park is the perfect place for leisure and fitness activities, the Jetty will benefit visitors and residents alike," it wrote on Twitter.

Maldives' Housing Development Corporation Ltd chairman, Mohamed Jaish Ibrahim, met with High Commissioner of India to the Maldives, Sunjay Sudhir, on Tuesday, to discuss prospective opportunities for developments in Hulhumale. In March 2019, the Exim Bank had extended a USD 800 million LoC to the Maldives for developmental projects in the island nation.

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Maldives Thanks India For $250 Million Support 

The Maldives on Tuesday has thanked India for the financial assistance of USD 250 million 'the single largest financial assistance from a donor'  to support the island nation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The pandemic has also highlighted the importance of global cooperation. In the Maldives, without the support of our friends, our bilateral and multilateral partners, we would not be able to continue weathering this storm, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives Abdulla Shahid said in his address to the General Debate of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

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(With inputs from ANI)