Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail has stated the development of the expatriate detention centre is expected to be completed within the next two months.
Speaking at the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Relations as part of an inquiry into the issue of undocumented expatriates, Economic Minister Fayyaz said the government has undertaken successful efforts to curb the increase of undocumented expatriates in the Maldives. As such, the economic minister stated 43,000 expatriates had been registered as undocumented, of which more than 20,000 have been repatriated to their home countries. He noted the undocumented expatriates are being held in detention to gather their documents before being repatriated.
The economic minister said the detention facility established in Hulhumale’ is currently under repair and renovation by the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The minister said MTCC expects to be complete the project within the next two months, after which the facility will be brought to operation.
The Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Relations is summoning the relevant authorities for the inquiry on the difficulties faced in resolving the issue of the growing number of undocumented expatriates in the Maldives. As such, officials from Maldives Immigration, Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Finance have been summoned to the committee for the inquiry.