Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On December 9, 2015, the Chinese Government provided a grant commitment worth 1.14 million USD (MVR 17,468,083) to renovate the Islamic Centre in Malé, Maldives with marble flooring to accommodate as many people as possible in prayer. 5,000 square meters of the temple were to be renovated, and, in December 2015, the project was expected to be complete before start of Ramadan 2016. According to its 2016 Annual Report, Maldives Transport and Contracting Company PLC did the flooring, marbling and landscaping of the project. The project was completed in June 2016. In July 2016, cracks began to appear in the marble flooring. The Housing Ministry, which received the check and made the arrangements with the contractor, was accused of corruption and criticized. Local media reported that the Housing Ministry had used ceramic tiles instead of marble. Housing Minister Dr. Mohamed Muizzu blamed the contractors for using low-quality materials and not living up to the ministry's standards, and said that the contractor would redo the project free of charge. The courtyard was walled off in December 2016 for the redo, the cracked tiles were replaced in March 2017, and the courtyard was opened back up immediately.
Staff comments
The Maldives Government Budget in Statistics 2018 document reports as the actual 2016 grant disbursement for 2016 as 17,468,083 MVR was taken for this project. Although the Maldives Government document reports it as a 2016 disbursement, news reports from December 2015 detail this transaction. News sources refer to the transaction as USD 1.14 million, which is the approximate conversion from MVR 17,468,083.