ADB Approves USD 50 Million Emergency Loan to Support Maldives Fuel Imports
- ADB approved a USD 50 million emergency loan to finance Maldives diesel imports and essential services.
- The funding sustains electricity, water desalination, healthcare, transport, and waste operations amid higher fuel costs.
- The loan complements USD 40 million from the World Bank, addressing weaker tourism-driven foreign currency inflows.
The Asian Development Bank has approved a USD 50 million emergency assistance loan for the Maldives to finance diesel imports and help sustain essential services amid higher fuel costs and weaker tourism inflows linked to the Middle East conflict.
The funding will be provided through the Energy Security Emergency Assistance Project, as the country faces pressure on its capacity to finance fuel imports. Imported fuel accounts for 94 per cent of electricity generation in the Maldives and is also used to operate desalination plants supplying drinking water.
ADB said the loan will support fuel supplies needed to keep electricity and water services running, while also maintaining food and health-care logistics, inter-island passenger and cargo transport, and waste management operations.
The assistance follows a rise in global fuel prices and a reduction in tourist arrivals, which has affected foreign currency inflows and government finances. The Maldives depends heavily on tourism receipts to meet its external payment needs, including the cost of importing fuel and other essential goods.
The ADB funding complements USD 40 million in support from the World Bank for the same purpose.
ADB President Masato Kanda said the bank was acting to help people in the Maldives retain access to electricity and water as external conflict increases domestic costs.
