The Government of the Maldives has planned 204 projects under the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) in the proposed state budget for 2023.
Around USD545 million has been allocated for next year’s PSIP, which is a programme that aims to deliver on the pledges and economic development objectives of the government. In 2023, the government plans to continue the ongoing PSIP projects and commence projects that could not be allocated in this year’s budget.
Ministry of Finance stated it has planned major projects for next year. As such, the funds allocated for the PSIP is 19.7% of the USD2.8 billion proposed state budget. The USD545 million PSIP budget consists of USD201 million from the domestic budget, USD266 million from foreign loans, USD46 million from foreign grants, and USD29 million from the Green Fund.
Additionally, 204 new PSIP projects will commence next year at a cost of USD31 million, while 311 projects in the tendering stage worth USD34 million are also included, as well as 479 projects in the pre-tendering stage worth USD78 million. A total of 113 completed projects are also included with USD5 million allocated as retention funds.
The 2023 PSIP budget has allocated the largest amount of funds to transportation, which is USD156 million or 28.9% of the budget. Around USD51 million will be allocated to the Thilamale’ Bridge project, USD60 million will be allocated to the development of airports in the atolls, and USD30 million will be allocated to harbour development.
Around USD91 million or 17.3% of the PSIP budget has been allocated for land reclamation, with USD18.9 million in loans allocated for the second phase of the Gulhifalhu land reclamation project, and USD11 million of the line-of-credit facility from India allocated for land reclamation in Addu City. The budget has also allocated USD27 million for the contracted road development projects and USD1.5 million to commence new road development projects.
Furthermore, the government has allocated USD48 million for housing projects, and USD47 million for infrastructure development for the health sector. Around USD84 million has been allocated for environmental protection projects, out of which USD41 million is allocated to waste management and USD27 million is allocated to coastal protection. The PSIP budget has also allocated USD42 million to conduct water and sewerage projects in 158 islands in 2023. The government has vowed that there would be no island without water supply and sewerage services next year.