Maldives seeks $20m to repair lone desalination plant

Maldives is seeking $20m for the repair of a desalination plant in Male, after the lone plant in the country caught fire.

The country’s capital is already facing acute shortage of drinking water following the malfunctioning of the plant and so far raised $1.5m for the repair work.

The country’s Asian neighbours, including India and China, have extended help rushing drinking water to the island country.

India has sent a ship carrying nearly 1,200t of bottled drinking water to help the country overcome the crisis.

Besides fresh water supplies, India has also sent reverse osmosis equipment to the island, reports The Financial Times.

China has followed suit and has shipped around 1,000t of fresh water to Maldives.

Male is a low-lying island surrounded by the Indian Ocean and has no natural water source.

With the residents solely dependent on treated sea water, the breakdown of the desalination plant left almost 100,000 people without water.

A major fire broke out at the generator control panel of Maldives Water and Sewerage Company on 4 December.

Water supply from the plant was stopped due to extensive cable damage of the generator used for distillation plants.

The island country had asked for aid from India, Sri Lanka, the US and China.