President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has announced that the government is currently preparing to launch a second round of the Murabaha facility to establish Refrigerated Sea Water (RSW) systems on existing and newly built fishing vessels.
He made these remarks while speaking to the residents of Hirilandhoo during his ongoing tour of the inhabited islands of Kolhumadulu Atoll.
Highlighting the government's Murabaha facility to establish RSW systems on fishing vessels, the President noted that among the applicants, the highest number of successful loans were awarded to applicants from Hirilandhoo.
Shedding light on the government's efforts to further expand the facility, he stated that the government is now preparing to launch a new round of loan issuance.
"We are currently preparing to start a new phase of it (the loan), or to begin the work of issuing additional loans. God willing, without much delay, within this year, before the upcoming Fishermen's Day, we will begin the work of issuing RSW loans to an additional 200 parties. God willing, with that as well, RSW loans will be issued to a total of about 300 parties," President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said.
The President further stated that the RSW system is a very modern system, and establishing this system on vessels will resolve the difficulties in obtaining ice. He also highlighted this as a significant advancement for the fisheries sector.
The Murabaha RSW financing facility is a finance facility arranged jointly by the Fisheries Ministry and the SME Development Finance Corporation (SDFC) to install RSW systems on vessels under the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)'s "Support People's Livelihood in Fisheries Sector in Maldives through Sustainable Energy Project". Under this facility, financing is provided for establishing RSW systems, purchasing generator sets, and purchasing solar power panel systems for fishing vessels. The facility issues up to MVR 2,000,000, with a profit rate calculated at 6% per annum. The government covers 35 percent of the cost of items acquired under this facility. The financing is provided to be repaid over a maximum period of 10 years, with a grace period of 6 months.
