An agreement has been signed between The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology and Maldives Islamic Bank to facilitate affordable access to Hakathari appliances. At a ceremony held at the Ministry, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, Honorable Aminath Shauna, signed the agreement on behalf of the Ministry, and acting CEO Mr. Ahmed Riza signed on behalf of Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB).
Under the agreement, MIB will implement a financing scheme to encourage the use of Hakathari appliances. The financing scheme is designed as a list based financing scheme which will allow for the purchase of 3, 4 and 5 star rated appliances from the list of items labeled under the Hakathari Program.
The Hakathari Program is an effort that will contribute to the sustainable development of the Maldives. The research shows that if the Hakathari Program is successful, it is estimated that by 2030, energy consumption will be reduced by 16% compared to a business as usual scenario. In addition to this, it is expected that the need for additional generation capacity will be avoided by approximately 147 MW. As a result, MVR 800 million will be saved from acquiring and establishing new power houses.
In her speech, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, Honorable Aminath Shauna stated that under the financing scheme, Hakathari appliances can be purchased at a rate of 10% per annum. The minister added that the financial scheme will be one of the lowest cost schemes in the country.
With the goal of green house gas emission reduction and energy conservation, The Government of Maldives is currently implementing the Strengthening Low Carbon Energy Island Strategies (LCEI) Project, which is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The LCEI project has allocated MVR 12,288,000 for the implementation of the financing scheme. Maldives Islamic Bank will use the money as a guarantee to run the scheme. The bank will provide financing from its own funds to those interested in purchasing Hakathari appliances. Under the scheme, the bank will finance upto MVR 15,360,000 for the purchase of Hakathari labelled appliances.
