Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology and the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) have signed the agreement for the establishment of a financing scheme to facilitate the purchase of appliances with the “Hakathari” energy efficiency label at cheap prices for the public.
The Hakathari programme is an initiative of the environment ministry to ensure that electrical appliances that enter the Maldivian market meet the necessary efficiency standards. The Hakathari label, which displays information about an appliances’ energy efficiency, has five efficiency levels with more stars indicating a higher efficiency.
The ministry signed an agreement with MIB to establish a financing scheme for the purchase of Hakathari appliances, in order to provide incentives to buy the items. The agreement was signed on March 25 by Environment Minister Aminath Shauna and the acting CEO of MIB Ahmed Riza.
The financing scheme by MIB is a list-based financing scheme. Items purchased under the scheme must have 3, 4 or 5-star Hakathari labels. Customers can buy the items at 10% price under the financing scheme.
The environment ministry revealed MIB will finance up to USD1 million per year for the scheme. The ministry revealed the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is providing USD775,000 through the Strengthening Low-Carbon Energy Islands Strategies Project, which will be used as a guarantee to the bank.
The Hakathari programme is currently implemented on a voluntary basis, where importers are required to register under the programme and get approval for energy efficiency labelling. The appliances covered under the first phase of the Hakathari programme are air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines.
The environment ministry stated it aims to ensure all air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines imported to the Maldives from 2024 onwards are Hakathari appliances.