The Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy has announced that the waste-to-energy plant established in Addu will be operated under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The ministry stated that although construction of the plant was completed in 2023, it has not yet been brought into operation because several requirements necessary for its commissioning have not been fulfilled.
The waste-to-energy plant in Addu was built with an investment of USD 16 million from the Maldives Green Fund and was completed in 2023. The facility is designed to process 50 tonnes of waste per day and generate 1.5 megawatts of electricity.
The government has previously said that the plant has not yet become operational because certain prerequisites remain unresolved. One of the main challenges is securing a consistent supply of the required 50 tonnes of waste per day. Arrangements have not yet been put in place to transport waste to Addu from the three southernmost atolls and other parts of the Maldives.
Speaking at a press briefing held at the President's Office in response to a question from PSM News about the Addu waste-to-energy plant, Director General of Waste Management and Pollution Ahmed Muruthala said that although the plant has not been put into operation, its condition is being monitored.
He explained that when this type of technology was first introduced to the Maldives, the country did not have the technical capacity required to operate it. As a result, the government is now working to run the Addu waste-to-energy plant under a public-private partnership model.
"For that reason, the project we are implementing in Thilafushi is being carried out under a design, build and operate model. This means the contractor will complete the project and then operate it for 15 years. However, when the projects in Vandhoo and Addu were undertaken, we believed that by the time they became operational, the necessary local capacity would have been developed. Unfortunately, that did not happen," Muruthala said.
The ministry said that implementing the project under a public-private partnership requires completing procedures in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. Consequently, no specific timeframe has yet been set for handing over the operation of the Addu waste-to-energy plant.
The ministry also highlighted the challenges of maintaining advanced technologies and specialised machinery introduced to the Maldives through various funding programmes. It said the country currently lacks the technical capacity needed to maintain waste-to-energy plants. The ministry further warned that allowing such expensive infrastructure and equipment at waste management facilities to deteriorate because of inadequate maintenance represents a significant loss for a country like the Maldives.