Ministry Signs Agreement With Nippon Koei For Coastal Conservation Project

The Ministry of Tourism and Environment has signed a contract with Nippon Koei Co., Ltd to provide consulting services for the implementation of coastal conservation measures under the Building Climate Resilient Safer Islands in the Maldives project.

The initiative is a joint effort between the Government of Maldives and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), supported by grant aid from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and JICA. The agreement between the Maldivian government and JICA for the project’s implementation was signed in 2023.

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The project aims to strengthen the sustainable protection of coastlines across the Maldives. Coastal protection works will be carried out on four selected islands: Addu City Meedhoo, L. Fonadhoo, L. Gan, and L. Isdhoo.

In addition to physical protection works, the project also focuses on formulating a national policy for sustainable coastal protection, developing island-level coastal protection plans for the four target islands, and establishing a data collection system for coastal protection and maintenance.

A basic design for protecting the eroding areas of the four islands has already been completed. A draft of the national coastal protection policy has also been shared with stakeholders and revised following their feedback. Work is now progressing on island-level coastal protection plans based on this framework.

To build local technical capacity, three tools for collecting and managing coastal data have been developed. Following technical training sessions, the Ministry’s technical team is now actively using these tools.

Under the newly signed agreement, Nippon Koei will prepare detailed designs for the four islands, conduct environmental impact assessments, assist with procurement processes for selecting construction contractors, supervise the implementation of protection works, and conduct technical training programmes for Ministry staff.

The agreement was signed on behalf of the Ministry by State Minister Abdulla Ziyad, who stated that the detailed designs are expected to be completed within six months. He added that the tendering process will run concurrently, with the aim of commencing civil works on the eroded areas of the islands within the next year.