Chinese Government provides grant for Renovation Project of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Maldives (Linked to Record ID#54160 and #100328)

Project narrative

On December 29, 2018, the Chinese Government signed an exchange of letters with the Government of Maldives to renovate and expand the Maldives' Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jameel building complex in Malé, according to a January 2019 article from the Chinese Embassy in the Maldives. The signing was performed by Maldives Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel on behalf of the Maldives and by Ambassador Zhang Lizhong on the behalf of China. According to a statement by the Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the project was funded with Chinese grant aid. The exact funding amount is unknown. According to the Ministry of National Planning and Infrastructure, the project mainly included interior and exterior decoration of the building, repair of wall cracks and maintenance and renovation of water, electricity and air conditioning equipment and pipelines at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jameel Building Complex in Malé. According to the Maldives Independent, the project was intended to help the Ministry of Foreign Affairs solve its space shortage and better service the people of the Maldives. According to the Chinese Embassy in July 2019, Shanghai Construction Engineering Group was the main contractor. China Building Technique's Design Institute No. 9 undertook the planning and design of the remodel. On July 29th, 2019, a commencement ceremony was held for the renovation project. The ceremony was attended by Chinese Ambassador Zhang Lizhong and Maldives Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdullah Shahid. According to the Chinese Embassy, actual construction did not begin until September 2019. A key handover and completion ceremony, where the keys to the building were officially returned to the Maldives Foreign Ministry, was held on December 31st, 2020. The handover ceremony was attended by Minister Khaleel and Ambassador Zhang. In 2022, the Chinese Government signed a certificate of aid of $310,000 USD extending its support for the continuing renovation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building in the Maldives {see Record ID#100328}.