The Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources has awarded the contract to establish a 4,000-tonne cold storage facility at the Kooddoo Fisheries Complex to a foreign company.
Lucky Global Projects Pvt Ltd has been selected for the project, which will be conducted with financial assistance from the Saudi Fund for Development. The official agreement was signed at a ceremony held at the President's Office on Thursday. The Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources, Ahmed Shiyam, signed on behalf of the Maldivian Government, while the Managing Director of Lucky Global Projects, Aashish Oberoi, signed on behalf of the company.
The USD 6.6 million project is set to be completed within 365 days. It aims to increase the cold storage capacity by 4,000 tonnes and enhance the power infrastructure in Kooddoo. Currently, Kooddoo has a 2,000-tonne cold storage facility, and the new project will raise the total capacity to 6,000 metric tonnes, with further plans for expansion.
Minister Shiyam highlighted that the Maldives' total cold storage capacity currently stands at 8,500 tonnes. Reflecting on the pledge made by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu to double the existing capacity, the Minister noted that the goal has now become more ambitious, with the aim of tripling the total capacity to 25,000 tonnes.
The Minister also pointed out that the Maldives currently lacks sufficient cold storage infrastructure to regulate fish prices. However, he emphasized that the government's planned projects would greatly benefit the fisheries sector and address this challenge. The expansion of cold storage capacity is expected to improve fish pricing in the Maldives, as currently, 65 percent of the country's fish production is exported as raw product due to the inadequate storage facilities.